METHOD o. 







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Class __i2)-^A3 — 

Book ^J^^- 
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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 




Dr. Seaman A. Knapp 



THE 

KNAPP METHOD 

OF 

GROWING COTTON 

By 

W. B. MERCIER 

Agriculturist and Field Agent, U. S. Department of Agriculture 
and 

nr'E. SAVELY 

Agriculturist and Field Agent, U. S. Department of Agriculture 




Illustrated 



Garden City New York 

DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY 

1913 






Copyright, 1913, by 

DOUBLEDAY, PaGE & CoMPANY 

All rights reserved, including that of 

translation into foreign languages, 

including the Scandinavian 



€'CI,A357105 



TO THE LATE 

DR. SEAMAN A. KNAPP 

THIS WORK IS DEDICATED IN APPRECIATION OF 

HIS GREAT SERVICE TO THE COTTON 

FARMERS OF THE SOUTH 



PREFACE 

In the preparation of this book it has been 
the aim of the authors to give in concise form a 
practical treatise on Cotton, instructive to the 
cotton grower. 

The authors desire to express their thanks 
to the many friends who have assisted them 
in this work, and especially to the following: 
Messrs. B. L. Moss, J. A. Evans, and E. C. 
Ewing in reading the manuscript of certain 
chapters. In the preparation of this manu- 
script, we have consulted freely the publications 
of the State Experiment Stations and the U. S. 
Department of Agriculture; " Cotton, " by 
Burkett and Poe; "Southern Field Crops," by 
J. F. Duggar, and " Cyclopedia of Agricul- 
ture," Bailey. 

In the list of illustrations credit is given in 
detail to the U. S. Department of Agriculture, 
and to State Experiment Stations and others 
that contributed photographs for this volume. 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I. Introduction. History of Cotton 3 

II. Description of Cotton Plant . 13 

III. Climate and Soils .... 23 

IV. Cotton Culture 33 

V. Fertilizers for Cotton ... 47 

VI. Improvement of Cotton by Seed 

Selection 69 

VII. Varieties of American Upland 

Cotton 79 

VIII. Some Cotton Diseases and Insect 
Pests — • With Suggestions for 

Their Control 97 

IX. Harvesting and Marketing Cotton 121 
X. Cost of Cotton Production . . 135 
XI. Equipment in Teams and Tools 

for Cotton Farms .... 145 
XII. Cotton By-products .... 151 

XIII. Soil Improvement on Cotton 

Farms 161 

XIV. Outlook for the Cotton Industry 181 
XV. The Supply and Distribution of 

Cotton 191 

Supplement 197 

is. 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

Dr, Seaman A. Knapp Frontispice ^ 

FACING PAGE 

Cutting Down the Expense of Making a Cotton Crop 

by Harrowing Young Cotton Across the Rows i8 

{Courtesy of W. F. Haden) 

Breaking Three Acres a Day with Moldboard Plow 19 , 
{Farm Management, U. S. Department of Agri- 
culture) 

A Weeder in Use for Early Cultivation . . . . 19 
{W. F. Haden) 

The Disc Cultivator 34 V 

The Modern Way — Ten Acres a Day . . 35 

{Farm Demonstration Work, B, P. I., U. S. Depart- 
ment of Agriculture) 

The Way to Get a Deep Seed Bed 36 

{Farm Demonstration Work, B. P. I., U. S. Depart- 
ment of Agriculture) 

A Terraced Field 37 

{Farm Management U. S. Department of Agri- 
culture) 

Method of Making Broad Terrace 37 

{Farm Management, U. S. Department of Agricul- 
ture) 



xii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING PAGE 

Cultivating Cotton with a Spring Tooth Cultivator 48 
{Farm Demonstration Work, U. S. Department of 
Agriculture) 

Cultivating Cotton with a Two-horse Cultivator . . 48 
{Farm Demonstration Work, U. S. Department 
of Agriculture) 

Young Cotton Plants 49 

{Fiber Investigations, B. P. I., U. S. Department 

of Agriculture) 

Cotton Bolls 82 

{Fiber Investigations, B. P. I., U. S. Department 
of Agriculture) 

Open Bolls of Cotton 83 

{Fiber Investigations, B. P. I., U. S. Department of 
Agriculture) 

Varieties of Cotton: Sea Island, Rio Grande, Upland 

Long-staple, Upland 88 

{Fiber Investigations, B. P. I., U. S. Department of 
Agriculture) 

Varieties of Cotton: Bill Boll Group, King-like or 

Early Group, Cluster Group, Semi-cluster Group . 89 

{Fiber Investigations, B. P. I., U. S. Department 
of Agriculture) 

American Upland Cotton 92 

{Fiber Investigations, B. P. I., U. S. Department 
of Agriculture) 

Cotton Boll with Anthracnose 93 

{Office of Plant Pathology, B. P. I., U. S. Depart- 
ment oj Agriculture) 

Root-knot on Cotton Plant 93 

{Office of Plant Pathology, B. P. I., U. S. Department 
of Agriculture) 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS XIU 

FACING PAGE 

Map Showing Spread of Cotton Boll Weevil from 1892 

to 1912 97 

(Bureau of Entomology, U. S. Department of Agri- 
culture) 

A Young Cottosn Plant Dying from Wilt ... 98 
(Office of Plant Pathology, B. P. I., U. S. Department 
of Agriculture) 

A Typical Plant of Dillon Wilt-resistant Cotton . 99 
(Office of Plant Pathology, B. P. I., U. S. Depart- 
ment of Agriculture) 

A Field of Upland Cotton in South Carolina Destroyed 

by Wilt 102 

(Office of Plant Pathology, B. P. I., U. S. Depart- 
ment of Agriculture) 

Wilt-resistant Dillon Cotton on Adjoining Land Badly 

Infected with Wilt 102 

(Office of Plant Pathology, B. P. I., U. S. Depart- 
ment of Agriculture) 

Moths of Cotton Boll- worm 103 

(Bureau of Entomology, U. S. Department of Agri- 
culture) 

Pupa of Boll-worm in Its Underground Burrow . . 103 
(Bureau of Entomology, U. S. Department of Agri- ' 

culture) 

Stages and Work of the Cotton Worm or Cotton Cater- 
pillar 104 

(Bureau of Entomology, U. S. Department of Agri- 
culture) 

Cotton Plant Attacked by Boll Weevil .... 105 

Cotton Boll-worm on Outside and Inside of Cotton Boll 108 
(Bureau of Entomology, U. S. Department of Agri- 
culture) 



xiv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING PAGE 

Partly Opened Cotton Bolls Showing EflFects of Boll- 
worm Damage io8 

{Bureau of Entomology, U. S. Department of Agri- 
culture) 

Injury by Boll Weevil to Bolls 109 

{Bureau of Entomology, U. S. Department of Agri- 
culture) 

Effects of BoII-weevil Attack on Leaf and Squares . 112 
{Bureau of Entomology, U. S. Department of Agri- 
culture) 

Poisoning Cotton by Pole and Bag Method . . . . 113 
{Bureau of Entomology, U. S. Department of Agri- 
culture) 

Poisoning Cotton by Use of Spray Pump . . . 113 
{Bureau of Entomology, U. S. Department of Agri- 
culture) 

A Farmer Comparing His Cotton with the Government 

Standard Grades 128 

{fF. T. Payne) 

Round Bales Showing Method of Opening . . . . 128 
{Cotton Marketing, U. S. Department of Agriculture) 

Gin-compressed Bales Ready for Shipment . . . 128 
{Cotton Marketing, U. S. Department of Agriculture) 

Gin-box, Egyptian, Gin-compressed and Recompressed 

Cotton Bales 129 

{Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, Depart- 
ment of Commerce and Labor) 

Transverse Section of a Cotton Gin 136 

{Continental Gin Company) 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS XV 

FACING PAGE 

Section from a Ginnery Showing Box Press and Gin 

Stands I37v,' 

{Continental Gin Company) 

Ordinary Equipment of One-horse Cotton Farm . . 146 
(Farm Management, U. S. Department 0/ Agricul- 
ture) 

Ordinary Equipment of Two-horse Cotton Farm . . 146 
{Farm Managemetit, U. S. Department of Agricul- 
ture) 

Up-to-date Equipment for a Cotton Farm . . . 147^ 
{Farm Management, U. S. Department of Agriculture) 

Crimson Clover in Central Alabama 1 76 

Corn and Velvet Beans 176 

A Yield of Two and One Half Bales Per Acre . . 177 
{Farm Demonstration Work, B. P. /., U. S. Depart- 
ment of Agriculture) 



History of Cotton 



CHAPTER I 

INTRODUCTION 
HISTORY OF COTTON 

COTTON is the world's greatest fiber 
crop. History records nothing that 
compares to it as a cash crop. The 
cotton crop is extensively grown in but 
twelve of the Southern States, and exceeds 
in total value any other crop in the United 
States, except corn, which is produced in each 
of the forty-eight states of the Union. The 
spinners of Europe are much more concerned 
about the size of the American cotton crop 
each fall than about the peace of nations. The 
cotton plant furnishes the raw material for 
the greatest textile industry of all times. The 
volume of the export trade it supports is enor- 
mous. 

Cotton has been known and perhaps used as 
fiber since the earliest civilization. The im- 
portant part it was to play in the economic 

3 



4 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

adjustment of the world's products and finances 
was not realized until after the American 
Revolution. Silk, flax, wool, and cotton have 
always been the staples to furnish mankind 
with clothing. By reason of the cheapness 
of production, the ease of manufacture, and the 
general excellence of the manufactured goods 
for wearing apparel, cotton is rapidly taking 
place of the other three materials. 

HISTORY 

The original home of the cotton plant has not 
been definitely established by historians, but 
from the best data at hand was probably the 
East Indies. Hindoo history, 4,000 years old, 
speaks of a fiber, evidently cotton, and leads us 
to believe it was manufactured into fabrics at 
this early period. Cotton has been known in 
the countries of southern Europe for several 
centuries. The early fragmentary history of 
various countries mention some plant bearing 
a wool-like fiber, which was undoubtedly cotton. 
Some species of cotton have been found growing 
wild in practically all countries lying between 
the 37th degree of latitude north and south 
of the equator except the present cotton area 



HISTORY OF COTTON 5 

of the United States. Magellan found the 
Brazilians using cotton for beds and fabrics 
in 1519. 

The first record of its being grown as a fiber 
in the United States was in 1621, and then only 
in small quantities. Cotton seed was brought 
from the Barbadoes to South Carolina in 1680. 
The first foreign shipment of cotton from this 
country was from Savannah in 1747 — only 
three bags. There seems to have been so little 
grown that no authentic record of the crop was 
kept"until 1791, at which date the entire Ameri- 
can crop was 8,889 bales weighing 225 pounds 
each. The lint had to be separated from the 
seed by hand, which was a tedious and difficult 
task. 

The cotton gin was invented by Ely Whitney 
in 1793. The first saw gin was erected in 
South Carolina in 1795, and from this dates 
the beginning of an industry which, for rapidity 
and volume of growth, has no parallel in the 
world's history. 

The total crop of the United States in 1850 
was, in round numbers, 2,500,000 bales. In 
i860 it reached 4,500,000 bales. Then the 
Civil War came on and so paralyzed all the 



6 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

business industries of the South that it took 
almost two decades to get back to the produc- 
tion of i860. Since 1880 the increase has been 
continuous and rapid. The average yearly 
production, for the twenty-six years ending 
1904 was 7,500,000 bales. The average for the 
past ten years has been 12,300,000 bales. The 
crop of 1911 was over 16,000,000 bales, the 
largest of any yet grown. The highest average 
prices for thirty years have been paid for the 
last five crops, averaging more than 12,000,000 
bales each. The cotton mills of the world now 
handle more than 15,000,000 bales of cotton 
annually. Even with this enormous supply, 
it is claimed that half the people on the globe 
know nothing of modern-made cotton goods. 
One statistician has estimated that if all the 
people in the world used as much cotton goods 
as the civilized nations, it would take more than 
40,000,000 bales to supply the demand. The 
progress of some of the most populous countries 
toward higher standards of living will doubtless 
cause the demand to grow faster than the 
supply unless there is some readjustment of 
labor conditions in cotton-producing countries. 
The United States has special advantages 



HISTORY OF COTTON 7 

for cotton growing that perhaps are possessed 
by no other country. There exists a peculiar 
combination of soil and climatic conditions 
found in no other country, even where situated 
in the same degrees of latitude. Not all the 
lands lying between the 37th degrees of north 
and south latitude will produce cotton success- 
fully. Profitable production of cotton in any 
country is largely determined by conditions of 
soil, climate, labor, and management. 

America now furnishes about 75 per cent, 
of the cotton used by European spinners. 
Egypt, India, and Brazil, in the order named, 
supply the rest. Several other countries 
grow limited amounts, but unless better 
methods are used and a more rapid progress 
made, these countries will hardly produce more 
than enough for home consumption. The only 
chance of an early increase in supply for Euro- 
pean spinners must come from Egypt, and under 
the most favorable conditions the Increase from 
this source must be limited. All other cotton 
countries except America have found other 
crops more profitable, and It Is hardly probable 
that they will change to cotton merely to accom- 
modate the spinner. 



8 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

There are vast possibilities for the extension 
of the cotton industry in the Southern States. 
In the strictly cotton-producing states there are 
303,000,000 acres of land. Of this not over 
100,000,000 have been put into cultivation. 
In recent years 28 to 36 million acres, or about 
one third, have been planted to cotton. This 
is about 9 per cent, of the total area of the 
cotton states. There are still vast areas avail- 
able for cotton production. 

It would appear from the above figures that 
the quantity that could be produced might be 
greatly increased by the utilization of all avail- 
able lands. There are, however, certain im- 
portant factors that will limit production. 
The problem of maintaining soil fertility; the 
adjustment of the labor problem, now a most 
serious one; and the increasing population with 
constantly advancing prices for other farm 
products will have a tendency to limit the 
acreage devoted to cotton. Again, it must be 
remembered that cotton is one of the most 
tedious and difficult crops to grow and harvest. 
It will always be hard to get those accus- 
tomed to growing other crops less troublesome 
to adopt cotton farming. This will be the case 



HISTORY OF COTTON 9 

SO long as present high prices for other products 
exist. The present practice of growing cotton 
and buying from the proceeds the necessary 
supplies to run the farm is seldom profitable. 
About one third of the American crop is 
consumed in the United States, the remainder 
being exported. The estimated total value of 
the last two crops, including seed, is $l,ooo,- 
000,000 each. This is a vast sum of money 
and should the Southern farmers make up 
their minds to grow this amount of cotton and 
in addition all the food supplies for man and 
teams, a thing that could easily be done, it 
would be only a question of a few years until 
the cotton farmers of the United States would 
be the most prosperous and independent of 
all men. 



Description of Cotton Plant 



CHAPTER II 

DESCRIPTION OF COTTON PLANT 

THE cotton plant belongs to what is 
known as the mallow family. The 
okra, hollyhock, althea, some weeds 
and trees belong to the same family. Cotton 
is a tropical plant and is found growing wild 
in most tropical countries. It is an annual 
in the United States; but after warm winters 
occasional stalks of the old crop start new 
growth, indicating the perennial nature of 
the plant. In this country it is usually a 
shrub-like plant, ranging from two to seven 
feet in height. The extent of growth naturally 
depends on soil, climatic conditions, variety, 
and general treatment. 

A peculiarity of the mallow family is that all 
plants in it have flowers with five petals with 
numerous stamens that form a tube about the 
pistil. There are usually several leaf-like parts 
below and around the flower. In cotton there 
13 



14 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

are three of these, which, with the inclosed bud, 
form what is termed the "square." The leaves 
are alternate, lobed, with veins all beginning at 
a common point near the base. 

The genus or general subdivision of the 
family to which cotton belongs is Gossypium. 
A number of species are classed under this sub- 
division, but only two of these are of special 
interest to the American cotton grower. The 
first, and one of the greatest importance, is 
Gossypium Hirsutum, which includes all the 
upland cottons both long and short staples. 
The second, Gossypium Barbadense, includes 
all the Sea Island and Egyptian cottons. As 
indicated above, American upland cotton 
may be divided into two distinct classes: (i) 
short staple, and (2) long staple varieties. 
The chief distinction between the two is in 
the length and strength of staple. The short 
staple ranges from three fourths to one and 
one eighth inches, while the long staple ordi- 
narily runs from one and three sixteenths to one 
and five eighths inches in length. There are, of 
course, several intermediate classes. The buy- 
ing and selling prices of long staple cotton are 
largely determined by the length of staple; the 



DESCRIPTION OF COTTON PLANT 1 5 

highest price, of course, being paid for the 
longest. 

Cotton seed when planted germinate quickly 
under favorable conditions. The first stage in 
the growth of the young plant is the formation 
of a stem and tap root. When the young plant 
first appears above ground it has two leaves. 
With warm weather, plenty of plant food, and 
good treatment the plant develops rapidly. 
The plant has a central main stem from which 
are put forth limbs or branches. This stem and 
the branches are woody in nature and possess 
considerable strength. The first or base limbs 
are the largest and in many varieties assume 
the stalk-like qualities of the parent stem. 
The other branches decrease in length and 
size toward the top of the plant. When fully 
developed the plant usually presents a very 
symmetrical and pleasing appearance. The 
main stem and the larger base limbs produce 
only leaves and smaller sub-branches on which 
the bolls are found. One peculiarity of the 
cotton plant is that two limbs start from the 
axil of each leaf on the main stem. One con- 
tains the bolls and the other is barren; fre- 
quently, however, only one develops, and 



l6 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

fortunately this one is more often the fruit- 
bearing branch. 

The varieties or plants developing fruit limbs 
nearest the ground having short joints or 
nodes are found to reach maturity first; the 
long-jointed, straggling plants being invariably 
late in maturing. The stalks and stems are 
covered with a rather strong, tough bark, 
usually of a brownish color. This bark contains 
a coarse fiber, but it has never attained any 
commercial importance. 

Cotton leaves appear alternately on the stem 
and may vary in size or shape in the same 
variety and even sometimes on the same stalk. 
The upland cottons usually have leaves with 
three lobes, sometimes more. The big boll 
varieties have large heavy leaves with slight 
indentations and short lobes. The very small 
boll varieties have small, light leaves with 
deeper indentations and sharp, pointed lobes. 
Sea Island and Egyptian cottons have very 
deep indentations and slender lobes. There are 
usually three or more prominent veins in each 
leaf starting out from a common point at the 
leaf stem. The leaves and small stems of 
upland cottons are covered with short hair? 



DESCRIPTION OF COTTON PLANT IJ 

which are not found on the Sea Island vari- 
eties. 

A small flower stem of varying length appears 
along the larger branches to support the bolls. 
The square is the first stage of the fruit. It 
consists of three bracts or leaves with the 
inclosed flower bud and appears, on an average, 
twenty-one days before the bloom opens. The 
blooms of upland cotton are cream colored the 
first morning, changing to pink the second day, 
and fall to the ground the third or fourth day. 
The flowers open up beautifully early in the 
morning, but begin to close and change color in 
the afternoon of the first day. Blooms of other 
species vary in size and color. The cotton bloom 
is self fertile. When the bloom drops, it leaves a 
small pod about the size of a pea which develops, 
on an average, in from forty-five to fifty days 
into the full grown boll. This boll is similar in 
size and shape to a small hen's egg and contains 
the lint and seed. The boll of upland cottons 
has four to five divisions, each containing 
a lock consisting of seed and lint. Each lock 
has from six to twelve seeds. Sea Island 
bolls are smaller and contain three or four 
locks. 



1 8 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

The number of bolls may vary from a very 
few to several hundred to the stalk. The num- 
ber depends largely on the variety, soil, moist- 
ure, and climatic conditions while growing. 
The number of blooms appearing does not 
signify how many bolls will reach maturity, as 
insect pests, excessive rains, dry weather, or 
lack of fertility may cause a large per cent, to 
shed. An average of thirty to fifty mature 
bolls to the stalk over a field with a good stand 
should give a yield of three quarters to one bale 
per acre. The size and shape of the boll varies 
with the varieties, class of soil, and weather 
conditions. The small boll cottons require 
from one hundred to one hundred and twenty 
bolls to make a pound of seed cotton, while some 
of the large boll varieties require only forty to 
sixty to the pound. The manner of opening of 
bolls difi"ers greatly with the varieties; some 
yield their locks freely, while others open in 
such a way as to cause the lock to adhere 
closely. The latter kinds are preferred in a 
windy country or where the harvesting is not 
done promptly. 

The seed cotton produces about two thirds 
seed and one third lint or fiber when ginned. 











O C o 
cj c^ te. 




S, ,»>, 1) »■ 



DESCRIPTION OF COTTON PLANT 1 9 

Five hundred pounds of lint Is a bale. A 
bushel of seed weighs thirty-two pounds. The 
seed are rich In oil and nitrogen, and are usually 
worth about one sixth as much as the lint. 



Climate and Soils 



CHAPTER III 

CLIMATE AND SOILS 

WHAT is commonly known as the 
cotton belt of the United States 
lies below latitude 37 degrees. This 
embraces the larger part of the following 
states, viz: Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, 
Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, 
North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Ten- 
nessee, and small portions of Virginia and 
Missouri. The climatic conditions of this 
particular region are perhaps more thoroughly 
adapted to the successful growing of the culti- 
vated varieties of cotton than any other yet 
known. The summers are long and the tem- 
perature relatively high. The average annual 
rainfall is between forty and fifty inches over 
the larger part of the cotton territory. Cotton 
being naturally a tropical plant, it does best 
in a warm, humid climate; but, on the other 
hand, can be grown profitably under semi-arid 
conditions. To reach full development, the 

23 



24 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

cotton plant must be grown where there are at 
least six months warm sunshine. The dates of 
killing frost In spring and fall are every Impor- 
tant with the cotton grower. While the picking 
sometimes extends Into the winter months, a 
killing frost stops all growth and frequently 
spoils considerable quantities of immature bolls. 
If the temperature is uniformly high, day and 
night, the young plant develops rapidly. On 
the other hand, should there be cold nights or a 
sudden drop in the temperature, the growth of 
the young plant is seriously checked and the 
stand may be so injured that replanting is 
necessary. The extreme sensitiveness of the 
cotton plant to cold makes it Important that 
planting be delayed for seasonable weather. 
There is nothing gained by planting before the 
ground and air have been sufficiently warmed 
to insure quick germination; besides, there is 
danger of losing the choicest seed if planted too 
soon. With warm weather, good cultivation, 
and a normal amount of moisture, the plant 
should reach maximum stalk growth by the 
first of August. After this the principal busi- 
ness of the plant should be to develop and 
mature fruit. 



CLIMATE AND SOILS 2$ 

The best cotton seasons are the ones during 
which there is an absence of abnormally heavy 
rainfall, but where showers and occasional rains 
are frequent enough to supply moisture for con- 
tinuous but not excessive growth. Such sea- 
sons permit the plant food to be assimilated 
gradually, and also causes a sufficient setting 
of early fruit to insure a fair yield. These 
conditions distribute the bolls in such a manner 
as to make the plant more symmetrical and give 
a more extended opening period, resulting in a 
better grade of lint, especially where pickers are 
limited during harvest season. A cold, wet 
spring is unfavorable, interfering with prepara- 
tion, retarding planting operations, and early 
cultivation. While such conditions materially 
lessen the chances for a good yield, the cotton 
plant is so adaptable to conditions of climate 
and soil that fair crops have been made when 
the early outlook was quite gloomy. Frequent 
heavy rains during June, July, and August, 
sometimes occur and seriously damage the crop. 
Such seasons interfere with proper cultivation, 
promote excessive plant growth at the expense 
of fruit, and encourage the multiplication of 
insect pests and fungous diseases that prey upon 



26 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

cotton. The territory is so extensive, however, 
that there is wide variation in the weather con- 
ditions. Some sections may have favorable 
conditions, while the opposite may be true of 
others. No two states have the same weather 
conditions, and often in the same state there is 
a wide variation. There is, consequently, little 
probability of having an ideal season over all 
the cotton belt the same year. Under the 
present system and with the large acreage 
planted, it is doubtful whether an ideal season 
over the entire cotton area would be best for 
the industry. Under the most favorable con- 
ditions such a large crop might be grown from 
the present acreage that the price would per- 
haps be reduced below the cost of production. 
It will be noted by taking the averages for ten, 
twenty, and thirty years that the cotton crop 
will show a more uniform yield per acre than 
any other American farm crop. 

SOILS 

Cotton may be planted on almost any well- 
drained soil in the cotton region. It will be 
found growing readily on all kinds of soils 
from the stiff clays to the lightest sands. The 



CLIMATE AND SOILS 2/ 

vigor of growth and yields vary widely on diff- 
erent soils. A profitable crop can be produced 
on almost any class of land, provided suitable 
plant food is present or is furnished by applica- 
tions of fertilizers. 

The system of cropping practised In the 
cotton states has so reduced the fertility of 
some soils that crops cannot be grown on them 
at a profit. The use of so much of these poor, 
depleted lands accounts for the low average 
yields. Some of the cotton lands are naturally 
poor; and the constant cropping to cotton, with- 
out returning enough vegetable matter to retain 
fertility and protect from washing has made 
vast areas of once rich soils almost v/orthless. 

On the other hand, there are some extremely 
rich bottom lands and some newly cleared 
fields not in bottoms that have too much moist- 
ure and plant food for successful cotton raising. 
These should be devoted to corn, meadows or 
pastures. If planted to cotton the plant growth 
Is too rank and the fruit will often be scattering. 
There is also an additional danger of serious 
damage from the rotting of the bolls, insect 
depredations, and fungous diseases on these 
rich lands, 



28 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

The most satisfactory of all lands for cotton, 
taking it through a long series of years, is a 
medium sandy loam with a clay subsoil. The 
nearest approach to ideal conditions can be 
maintained on such soil in all seasons. The 
plant growth in a normal year will neither 
be too rank nor too small. There is a com- 
paratively small percentage of typical loam soils 
now in cultivation. Some of the best of these 
have been cropped with cotton so continu- 
ously that much of the plant food has been 
exhausted and leached out. 

The per cent, of sand or clay in soils has an 
important bearing on both their mechanical 
texture and production. The texture of the 
soil means more to the average farmer than its 
chemical composition. Long experience and 
practice have taught him to determine the best 
cotton lands from observing the native growth 
and the texture of the soil, rather than from 
chemical knowledge of its contents. The tenant 
farmer soon learns the fields that are best suited 
to the crop, and this accounts largely for their 
continuous cropping in cotton. 

About 50 per cent, of all space In soils is 
occupied by air and water. Sandy soils are 



CLIMATE AND SOILS 29 

composed of larger particles and naturally are 
less retentive of water; clay soils are composed 
of very fine particles and are more retentive of 
moisture. Under very dry conditions sandy soils 
do not retain moisture sufficient for cotton; 
while, on the other hand, clay soils are equally 
objectionable during wet or rainy periods 
for the opposite reason. The most reliable 
cotton lands are therefore loams and sandy 
loams, well drained, but with sufficient clay to 
make them retentive enough to insure a uniform 
moisture supply during the growing season. 
When such soils have had proper preparation 
and the early rains have been stored and re- 
tained by later shallow and frequent cultiva- 
tion, the yield may be expected to turn out 
satisfactorily in all seasons. 

The mechanical condition of all soils are 
greatly improved by keeping them well supplied 
with vegetable matter. 



Cotton Culture 



CHAPTER IV 



COTTON CULTURE 



PREPARATION of Seed Bed.— Where 
possible to do so, break the land in the 
early fall or winter. This breaking should 
be done on most soils before December first. 

If an ordinary turning plow is used, break 
one or two inches deeper than usual, cutting 
a narrow furrow slice in order to set the furrow 
on edge to prevent bringing the subsoil to the 
surface. 

The disk breaking plow is especially suited 
for this fall breaking as it brings but little of 
the subsoil to the surface. If a disk plow can 
be secured, use it and go down as deep as 
possible. 

On well-drained lands the fall breaking may 
be done broadcast. On poorly drained lands 
it is better to throw up in high beds or ridges in 
order to give drainage and to thoroughly aerate 
the soil during the winter. 

33 



34 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

The object of deep fall plowing is mainly to 
increase the supply of available plant food and 
the storage of moisture in the soil. The parti- 
cles of the soil are separated by this tillage, 
allowing frost to penetrate deeper and the air 
and moisture to circulate freely, and the winter 
rains are stored up for use in the spring and 
early summer. When the subsoil is first 
brought to the surface it is a dead inert mass, 
and the soil particles must be acted on by the 
oxygen of the air, the frost, and the rains to 
make plant food available. Every farmer has 
observed that when a ditch is dug and dirt is 
thrown out from the bottom nothing will grow 
on it for several months. The second year the 
rankest growth is found on this soil. An 
additional advantage of fall breaking is that 
it destroys some injurious insects, which pass 
the winter in the soil. Deep fall plowing is of 
great value in fields long in cultivation where 
the plant growth is medium or less. On very 
rich, moist soils where there is too much avail- 
able plant food for cotton, a condition that 
makes an excessive growth of the stalk and a 
consequent decrease in fruitage, it is best not 
to do fall breaking. Such lands should be 



COTTON CULTURE 35 

broken shallow in the spring. Deep, light, 
sandy soils should not be broken in the fall 
unless covered with a heavy crop of vegetation 
or where a winter cover crop is to be planted 
to utilize available plant food and prevent 
leaching. 

Where land was broken deeply in the fall, 
rebreak in the spring from three to four weeks 
before time to plant, and throw in slight beds 
or ridges the desired width of the cotton rows. 
This will give sufficient time for the beds to 
become firm before planting. This spring 
rebreaking or bedding can be very rapidly and 
satisfactorily done with a disk cultivator by 
adjusting the disks so as to throw up a slight 
bed. Just before planting, freshen and thor- 
oughly pulverize the surface of the beds to a 
depth from one to one and one half inches. 

The cotton plant first throws out its feeding 
roots in the moist, warm, surface soil, and it is 
best, therefore, immediately before planting, 
to use freely the section, disk or some other 
harrow. Time spent in making a good seed 
bed in not wasted. Go over the field several 
times with the harrow if necessary. 

Where it is not possible to break the land in 



36 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

the fall or early winter, break broadcast as early 
in February or March as soil conditions will 
permit, as deep or slightly deeper than it has 
been previously broken. 

It is seldom advisable to turn the subsoil in 
the spring. It is usually too full of water and 
it is too late for much effective action of the air 
upon the soil and for the rains to firm the sub- 
soil before planting. 

Even where the land is not plowed until 
spring it is found profitable to rebed before 
planting. Freshen and thoroughly pulverize 
the surface of the beds immediately before 
planting. It is usually better to plant cotton 
on a firm seed bed. If the land cannot be 
broken or bedded in the spring In time to be- 
come firm by rains, then a heavy drag or roller 
should be run over the loosely plowed land to 
firm it before planting. A poor stand often 
results from planting cotton on a loose bed on 
account of lack of sufficient moisture to insure 
germination. It is also difficult to plant seed 
the proper depth on a loose seed bed. 

Whether it is best to plant cotton flat or on 
beds is a question that is wholly determined by 
local conditions. On level, well-drained lands 




cu 






^ 

T^ 



H 



'Ww^M* * 




.j>&<^'/^'*^^ 





A terraced field 
Method of makinji; broad terrace 



COTTON CULTURE 37 

flat planting is practicable, and it will be easier 
to cultivate than where cotton is planted on 
ridges. Cotton is planted on beds as a pre- 
caution against heavy rainfall after planting. 
Seeds require moisture for germination, but 
must be kept out of standing water in the soil. 
Where conditions are such that cotton can 
be flat planted, it may also be planted in check 
rows which insures easier and more economical 
cultivation. Even where cotton is planted on 
beds or ridges the beds should be dragged down 
with the harrow so that they have only a slight 
elevation above the level surface. 

In semi-arid sections cotton is frequently 
planted in the bottom of a freshly opened 
furrow between beds in order to get the seed 
into moist soil. 

Width of Rows. — The proper spacing of the 
rows for cotton is important. The general rule 
for spacing is that the distance between the 
rows shall be a little more than the height of the 
plant in average years. Where cotton usually 
grows two or three feet high, the rows should 
be from three and one half to four feet apart. 
Where cotton normally grows three and one 
half feet high, plant in four foot rows. Where 



38 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

it grows from four to five feet high, space the 
rows four and one half to five feet apart. It is 
better to have the rows a little too wide than 
too narrow. Air and sunlight are of great im- 
portance in pushing the crop to maturity. 

Date of Planting. — Cotton should be planted 
as soon in the spring as danger from frost is 
past and the soil becomes sufficiently warm to 
quickly germinate the seed and insure healthy 
and vigorous growth of the plant. The best 
time for planting cotton along the Gulf Coast 
is probably between the dates of March 25th 
and April 25th. In the central part of the 
Gulf States planting should be between April 
loth and May 1st. In the northern part of the 
cotton belt planting should be between April 
20th and May 15th. The largest part of the 
cotton crop is planted before the first of May 
in the central part of the cotton belt, but fre- 
quently fields of cotton are planted as late as 
the middle or last of May and produce good 
crops. On the rich alluvial lands of the Mis- 
sissippi Valley, following overflows, cotton some- 
times produces a fair crop even when planted 
late in June. Extra early or extra late plant- 
ing is not recommended. Extremely early 



COTTON CULTURE 39 

planting increases the labor of cultivation, and 
the young, tender plants are frequently injured 
by the frost. Very late planting lessens the 
labor of cultivation, but the crop is liable to be 
cut short in the fall by early frost, which 
destroys immature bolls. 

Cotton Planters. — Where cotton is planted on 
ridges the most satisfactory planter to use is the 
one-horse walking planter. There are a num- 
ber of these planters on the market. The 
principal features to be desired in a planter are: 
regular and uniform distribution of the seed, 
and uniform depth of planting. Some of the 
planters have adjustments for dropping the 
seed in hills instead of in continuous drill. 
With these planters it is often necessary to 
dampen the seed and roll them in dust, lime 
or ashes to temporarily paste down the fuzz 
in order to get regular distribution of the 
seed. 

Seed planted in hills require less work with 
the hoe in thinning to a stand, but the extra 
care in preserving the stand about offsets any 
advantage to be derived by planting in hills. 

Depth of [Planting. — Cotton should be 
planted shallow, not over one inch deep, pro- 



40 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

vided that depth reaches moisture, in which 
case plants will be up in a few days. 

In sections of light rainfall or when planting 
late in the season, it will be necessary to plant 
deeper than one inch. More stands of cotton 
are lost from planting too deep than from 
planting too shallow. 

Amount of Seed Per Acre. — Where seeds are 
distributed in continuous drill, three pecks of 
good seed per acre is ample. A stand may be 
secured with half this amount of seed when 
planted the proper depth on a good seed bed, 
but it is an advantage to have more plants on 
the land than necessary, so that if a few of 
them are destroyed in the first cultivation the 
stand will not be injured. 

First Cultivation. — Begin the cultivation as 
soon as the seeds are planted by running once 
or twice across the rows with a section harrow. 
When cotton is up to a stand, run diagonally 
across the rows with a section harrow with the 
teeth slanted backward at an angle of forty-five 
degrees. One week later go over the cotton 
again with the section harrow, diagonally 
across the rows in the opposite direction. This 
will destroy a few of the plants, but if three 



COTTON CULTURE 4I 

pecks of good seed per acre have been planted, 
not enough plants will be destroyed to injure 
the stand. The weeder is better for this early 
cultivation than the harrow on very loose soil, 
and should always be used instead of the harrow 
on sandy soils. 

^^ Chopping''^ or Thinning. — This early culti- 
vation with the section harrow or weeder de- 
stroys young grass and weeds and leaves the 
cotton in fine condition for "chopping" or 
thinning. The common practice of "barring 
off," leaving the plants on a narrow ridge to 
save labor in thinning, is unnecessary if the 
harrow has been used to keep the rows free of 
weeds and grass. If it should be found neces- 
sary to run around the cotton to destroy grass 
and save labor with the hoe in thinning, this 
work can be done more satisfactorily with a side 
harrow than with the turning plow. The 
turning plow should never be used in cultivation 
unless the crop has become so foul with weeds 
and grass that it is impossible to clean it with 
other implements. 

Where planting was rather early it Is better 
to thin twice, leaving two or three times the 
number of plants needed at the first thinning, 



42 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

and about three weeks later thin to a stand. 
Where planting is done toward the latter part 
of the planting season It is advisable to bring 
to stand at first thinning. 

The distance apart of plants in the drill will 
depend upon the fertility of the soil. On 
medium soils where plants grow about three 
feet tall, leave plants from fifteen to twenty 
inches apart in the drill. Where cotton nor- 
mally grows four to four and one half feet tall 
thin from twenty to twenty-four inches in the 
drill. 

Later Cultivation. — The first cultivation after 
using the section harrow or weeder, may be 
given with some form of cultivator. Among 
the implements used for this cultivation and 
with which satisfactory results are obtained 
are the following: the fourteen-inch heel sweep 
and short bull-tongue point on one-horse 
Georgia stock; one-horse spring- tooth culti- 
vator; five shovel, one horse cultivator; and 
the sulky cultivator with short, narrow, dia- 
mond point shovel attachments, or with spring- 
tooth attachments. If the land has become 
hard and compact from rains since plant- 
ing, the first cultivations may be rather deep. 



COTTON CULTURE 43 

This will not be likely to occur, however, if 
the section harrow has been run as often 
as recommended. All later cultivation should 
be shallow. During periods of excessive rains 
it may be necessary to cultivate deeper to 
clear the crop of weeds and grass, but after 
this is done continue the shallow cultivations 
as before. If the land is clear of stumps the 
cultivation can be done more economically 
with a two-horse cultivator that will cultivate 
the entire row at one trip. Any form of attach- 
ment may be used on the sulky cultivator which 
will give a loose dust mulch about one to two 
inches deep. If from any cause it is not practi- 
cable to use the sulky cultivator, excellent work 
can be done with a one-horse cultivator or with 
a one-horse Georgia stock, with broad narrow- 
winged sweep (heel sweep) if the dirt Is allowed 
to fall loosely over it. Care should be exercised 
in cultivating cotton not to allow the cultivator 
to go deep enough to break the feeding roots 
of the plant. On very rich, moist soils, where 
cotton has a tendency to grow an excessive 
stalk with consequent decrease in fruitage, 
it is often helpful to cultivate deeper than above 
recommended in order to check the growth of 



44 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

the plant and encourage fruiting. Usually 
this should be done early in the season and dis- 
continued when plants begin to set fruit freely. 
Cultivating every seven to ten days, weather and 
soil conditions permitting, will be best. This 
will allow, on an average, seven to nine culti- 
vations. The general practice is to stop culti- 
vation too early. In most sections it will pay 
to continue cultivation until the crop is prac- 
tically matured. 



Fertilizers for Cotton 



CHAPTER V 

FERTILIZERS FOR COTTON 

COMMERCIAL fertilizers were not used 
for cotton until about i860. At this 
early date wonderful results were at- 
tributed to their use in increasing the crops. 
For several years the increase in the use of 
them was followed with good results, but 
after a time the idea began to spread that 
the stimulating effect gave out and the soils 
really became poorer. The truth of the mat- 
ter was that with their continued use and with 
the clean cultivation, all the vegetable matter 
and humus became exhausted. A natural 
consequence was poor land and decreased 
yields. The alluvial bottoms along the streams 
and some of the rich uplands will produce 
profitable cotton crops without the aid of 
manures of any kind. 

Commercial fertilizers, when wisely used, 
have been profitable to the cotton grower, 

47 



48 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

but an extravagant and often unintelligent use 
has been too common. 

The one-crop system of the cotton states 
has been followed until much of the best lands 
have become unprofitable without the use of 
artificial plant food. There are vast areas 
where the natural fertility is too low to produce 
paying yields without the application of fertil- 
izer. These facts, with the demand for a quick 
cash crop, the prevalence of the credit system, 
the indifferent nature of the negro laborer, and 
the necessity for hastening maturity to avoid 
insect pests has led up to a general use of com- 
mercial fertilizers in recent years. A sort of 
fertilizer craze has swept over the Atlantic and 
Gulf States, only that portion of the cotton 
region west of the Mississippi escaping. The 
farmers have bought it and used it extrava- 
gantly and unwisely, thereby bringing upon 
themselves and their states a fertilizer debt, 
much of which is an unnecessary drain upon the 
resources. 

The following figures show the value of 
commercial fertilizers consumed in cotton 
states in 1910 based on inspection and tax 
laws as reported by state officials: North Caro- 




Cultivating cotton with a spring-tooth cultivator 
Cultivating cotton with a two-horse cultivator 




Young cotton plants 



FERTILIZERS FOR COTTON 49 

Una, ^14,368,100; South Carolina, ^20,104,305; 
Georgia, $22,719,760; Florida, $3, 523,39°; Ala- 
bama, $8,200,000; Mississippi, $4,055,540; Ten- 
nessee, $1,172,240; Louisiana, $1,820,200; Texas, 
$860,000. 

The above figures represent the value of 
commercial fertilizers and cotton seed meal 
used. No report was given of the amount of 
cottonseed meal used in Alabama, Tennessee, 
Louisiana, and Texas. The above table does 
not take into account a large amount of cotton 
seed and other fertilizing materials of which no 
official record was kept. While all of this 
fertilizer was not used for cotton, it was paid for 
out of the proceeds of the cotton crop. 

Until recent fertilizer laws were passed in the 
states requiring a guaranteed analysis to be 
stamped on the package, unscrupulous manu- 
facturers and dealers sold much cheap, inferior 
goods to the farmers at high prices. The law 
does not prevent making cheap grade fertilizer, 
but it must be branded so that the purchaser 
will know just what he is buying. The average 
farmer wants a cheap grade article notwith- 
standing the fact that the plant food in a high 
grade is cheaper and more satisfactory. It is 



50 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

a matter of record that in the early days of 
commercial fertilizer the foulest smelling and 
the most repulsive looking brand was considered 
most effective. This idea no longer prevails 
among intelligent farmers. The first thing 
they look for is the tag showing available 
elements in each package. But the mass of 
farmers have not been sufficiently educated 
along this line. They still buy on credit and 
consequently take what the dealer offers, re- 
gardless of price or grade. We hope this book 
will be of value in aiding purchasers to buy and 
use fertilizers with more intelligence and profit 
in the future. 

The chief object in the use of any fertilizer is, 
of course, increased yield, and to bring this 
about it must supply available plant food, or 
make available some of that already tied up 
in the soil. Usually artificial fertilizers per- 
form both of these offices. 

Most soils contain all the elements that enter 
into the plant growth except three — nitrogen, 
phosphoric acid, and potash. There is enough 
potash found in the soils In nearly all the South- 
ern States. This Is especially true on the red 
clays if a proper rotation is followed. 



FERTILIZERS FOR COTTON 5 1 

Commercial fertilizers cannot be bought in 
a pure state, but in combination with other 
substances which are of no value except to 
increase the bulk and make it easier to dis- 
tribute. The farmer should, by all means, 
know that the value of a fertilizer depends 
not on gross weight, but on the amount of 
available plant food contained. No fertilizer 
should be purchased that does not have the 
guaranteed analysis printed on the package. 
The composition is given in percentages, and 
in each hundred pounds there should be so many 
pounds of the particular element mentioned. 

For example, a fertilizer is offered for sale 
branded as follows: 



Nitrogen . 

Water-soluble phosphoric acid . 
Citrate-soluble phosphoric acid 
Total available phosphoric acid 
Potash 



2 per cent. 
8 per cent, 
2 per cent. 
lo per cent. 
2 per cent. 



Translated into terms of pounds this means 
that in a sack weighing lOO pounds there are: 

2 pounds of nitrogen. 

8 pounds of water-soluble phosphoric acid. 
2 pounds of citrate-soluble phosphoric acid 
lo pounds of available phosphoric acid. 
2 pounds of potash. 



52 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

This gives a total of 14 pounds of plant food 
in a 100-pound sack. When a ton of such fertili- 
zer is bought, the purchaser receives nitrogen, 
40 pounds; water-soluble phosphoric acid, 160 
pounds; citrate-soluble phosphoric acid, 40 
pounds; potash 40 pounds. Notice that what 
is called "available" is the sum of the water-sol- 
uble and the citrate-soluble phosphoric acid. In 
this fertilizer we get three things that are of use 
— 2 pounds of nitrogen, 10 pounds of phosphoric 
acid, and 2 pounds of potash to the 100 pounds. 

If cotton seed meal, acid phosphate, and kainit 
are used to make this fertilizer, it will require the 
following quantities for one ton of the mixture: 

Table I. — Proportions and value of cotton seed meal, 

ACID phosphate, AND KAINIT REQUIRED FOR A TON OF 
fertilizer OF A 2-IO-2 COMPOSITION 



FERTILIZING MATERIAL 


POUNDS 


VALUE 


Cotton seed meal (6.4 per cent. Ni- 
trogen) 

Acid phosphate (16 per cent, avail- 
able) 

Kainit (12.5 per cent, potash) 


625 
1,140 

235 


^8.00* 

10.00 
2.00 


Total 


2,000 


$20 . 00 



*The value of fertilizing materials is calculated on the basis of 
20 cents a pound for nitrogen and 5 cents a pound each for phosphoric 
acid and potash. 



FERTILIZERS FOR COTTON 53 

The figures quoted express the actual cost 
of the materials, so by the time such a fertilizer 
reaches the farmer it will cost him nearer ^25 
per ton. The difference between the value of 
materials and the price the farmer pays repre- 
sents the cost of mixing, and bagging, and the 
profits. 

It will be found that all materials used 
in mixing fertilizers vary in the amount 
of plant food contained in them. Taking 
acid phosphate for example, we find some 
running as low as 10 pounds of available 
phosphoric acid per 100 pounds, while the 
best grade runs as high as 16 pounds or 
more per lOO pounds. On this basis, val- 
uing phosphoric acid at 5 cents per pound, 
the first would cost 50 cents, whereas the 
latter would cost 80 cents. Even greater 
differences will be found in the grades of cot- 
tonseed meal. 

Samples of cotton seed meal can now be found 
ranging from 3.5 per cent, to 7 per cent, of 
nitrogen. Basing the values on the nitrogen 
contained, Table II shows the relative values 
of cotton seed meal of the different grades. It 
is assumed that cotton seed meal containing 



54 



KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 



6.5 per cent, of nitrogen can be bought for 
^28 per ton. 

Table II. — Values per ton of cotton seed meal of 

DIFFERENT GRADES 



PER 
CENT 

OF 
NITRO- 
GEN 


VALUE 


PER 
CENT 
OF 
NITRO- 
GEN 


VALUE 


PER 
CENT 
OF 
NITRO- 
GEN 


VALUE 


PER 
CENT 

OF 
NITRO- 
GEN 


VALUE 


6-5 
6.4 


$28.00 
27.67 


6-3 
6.2 


^27.13 
26.71 


6.0 


$25.84 
24.12 


3-5 


$21.97 
1507 



The average sample of cotton seed meal con- 
tains approximately the following percentages 
of plant food. 

Nitrogen 6.4 per cent. 

Phosphoric Acid 2.7 per cent. 

Potash 1.8 per cent. 

A lOO-pound sack will therefore contain the 
following quantities of plant food. 

Nitrogen 6.4 pounds 

Phosphoric acid 2.7 " 

Potash 1.8 " 

The results following the use of cottonseed 
meal indicate that decomposition makes the 
phosphoric acid in the meal available. In 
buying materials for mixing fertilizers it is 



FERTILIZERS FOR COTTON 55 

always economy to use only high-grade goods, 
even though they cost a little more. 

How to Use Commercial Fertilizers. — If fer- 
tilizers are used, the following general rule 
should govern: On rich lands use mainly fer- 
tilizers that will stimulate the fruit and not 
stalk growth. On lighter lands use more of the 
elements to force growth, combined with others 
which will mature the fruit. High-grade acid 
phosphate may be considered a basis for in- 
creasing the fruit and hastening the maturity 
of crops. Even on the richest land it has been 
demonstrated that a small percentage of ni- 
trogen added to the acid phosphate gives better 
results. 

Nitrogen. — The chief function of nitrogen 
is to promote plant growth, but it is also of very 
great importance in the production of fruit. 
Nitrogen enters largely into the composition of 
plants, and it follows that everything of vege- 
table origin is a valuable source of this sub- 
stance. When vegetable matter is burned the 
nitrogen is released from its combination, 
escapes into the atmosphere, and is lost. 
Hence, it is bad practice to burn off fields and 
destroy vegetable matter; it is better to turn it 



56 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 



under. The humus In vegetable matter has a 
value in soil renovation frequently greater 
than its value as a plant food. The most 
important sources of nitrogen used in com- 
mercial fertilizers are as follows: 

Table III. — Nitrogen content of important fertil- 
izer MATERIALS 



Source of nitrogen 



Per cent 



Source of nitrogen 



Per cent 



Cotton seed meal 6 to 7 
Dried blood . 12 to 14 



Tankage 



Q to 12 



Fish scrap . 
Sulphate of am- 
monia 
Nitrate of soda 



. 7 to 8 

.18 to 20 
.14 to 16 



Phosphoric Acid. — Next in importance as a 
plant food is phosphoric acid. It is largely 
required by the plant for growth, but it is 
absolutely essential in promoting fruitage and 
is a great factor in hastening the maturity of 
the crops. The principal commercial sources 
of phosphoric acid are as follows: 

Table IV. — Phosphoric acid content of important 

FERTILIZER MATERIALS 



Source of phosphoric ACID Percent 



Rock phosphate: 

Dissolved . . 12 to 16 

Ground . . .24 to 32 

Thomas slag . .15 to 20 



Source OF PHOSPHORIC Acm Percent 



Bone meal: 
Dissolved 
Ground . 



IS to 17 
20 to 22 



FERTILIZERS FOR COTTON 



S7 



Potash. — Potash is more directly effective 
in developing the fruit and adds to the vigor of 
the plant. It is seldom deficient in soils and 
especially in the soils of the Gulf States. It is 
obtained from the following sources: 

Table V. — Potash content of important fertilizer 

MATERIALS 



Source of potash 



Per cent 



Source of potash 



Per cent 



Kainit . 
Muriate of potash 



12-5 

So.o 



Sulphate of potash 
Wood ashes 



53 
5 to 20 



It should be understood that the fertilizing 
content of all the above-named materials are 
not readily available for the use of the plant. 
The amounts available should always deter- 
mine the value of the material. An example to 
illustrate may be found in acid phosphate. 
The total content of the ground rock is twice 
that of dissolved rock, but such a large per cent, 
of the ground rock is unavailable that it might 
be cheaper to buy the dissolved rock at twice 
the price per ton. The same principle applies 
in a greater or less degree to all the other 
materials used in making commercial fertilizers. 

What Fertilizer to Buy. — Since the elements 
of plant food already mentioned are required in 



58 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

different quantities and since the soils vary in 
their supply, it is well for the farmer to know 
what his soil and plants need before investing 
his money in fertilizers. The practical way for 
the farmer to determine these facts is to observe 
the growth of the plants on his land. If the 
plants grow rapidly and make an abundance of 
leaf and stalk it is evidence of a good supply 
of nitrogen. If there is not a proportionate 
amount of fruit it is a sure indication that the 
soil needs phosphoric acid. On the other hand, 
if the plant does not have a good color and tends 
to drop its fruit before it reaches a fair size it 
indicates that the soil requires potash. 

Most of the soils in the South are deficient 
in both nitrogen and phosphoric acid, and 
some in potash, so when commercial fertilizers 
are bought their value depends upon their 
content of these substances. If the farmer has 
saved all manures and has grown cowpeas or 
other legumes abundantly, he will rarely have 
to buy nitrogen. 

For rich soils, or soils where a heavy crop of 
peas, beans, or clover was grown the previous 
year, use one part of cotton seed meal and three 
parts of acid phosphate for cotton. For me- 



FERTILIZERS FOR COTTON 59 

dium soils use one part of cotton seed meal and 
two parts of acid phosphate. On thin soils use 
one part of cotton seed meal and one part of 
acid phosphate. These proportions are for 
soils rich in potash, but deficient in nitrogen 
and phosphoric acid. Experiments have shown 
that most of the clay soils in the cotton states 
do not need potash for growing field crops. 
On soils showing a need of it potash should be 
added. On some soils experiments have shown 
that neither acid phosphate nor potash is 
needed; examples of such soils are found in the 
black waxy lands of west Alabama, east Mis- 
sissippi, and Texas, and the stiff alluvial lands 
of the Mississippi Valley. 

On these soils nitrogen and humus seem to be 
all that is needed. Deep sandy lands such as 
are found in Florida and along the coastal 
plains are in many cases deficient in potash, as 
well as in phosphoric acid and nitrogen. On 
such soils a complete fertilizer or one containing 
nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash should 
be used. 

Amount of Fertilizer to Use Per Acre. — No 
definite instructions in regard to the use of 
fertilizers can be given to fit all conditions and 



6o KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 



soils. This question must be settled by tests 
on individual farms. The following formula 
will serve as a guide in mixing fertilizers to be 
used under the conditions mentioned: 

Table VI. — Proportions of fertilizer for cotton 





POUNDS OF FERTILIZER PER ACRE 




On sandy loam or clay soils when 


On deep sandy 


Fertilizer to be used. 


Poor 


Medium 


Rich 


soil of me- 
dium grade. 


Cotton seed meal 
Acid phosphate 
Kainit 


ISO 
ISO 


I GO 
200 


7S 

225 


ISO 
ISO 
ISO 



Where it is found that potash is needed on 
clay lands, one hundred pounds of kainit or its 
equivalent in muriate or sulphate of potash 
may be added. 

Where the land has grown a heavy crop of 
peas or beans the year before, half the amount 
of cotton seed meal may be used. 

On the black waxy lands of Alabama and 
Mississippi and the stiff alluvial lands of the 
Mississippi Valley that have been planted to 
cotton for a long period of years and have be- 
come deficient in vegetable matter, 200 to 300 
pounds of cotton seed meal or 100 pounds nitrate 
of soda per acre have given profitable returns. 



FERTILIZERS FOR COTTON 6l 

The amount of fertilizer to use depends on 
several factors. The cost of the material used 
in the fertilizer, the value of the land, the need 
and condition of the soil, and the money value 
of the crops to be grown must each be considered. 
The greater the money value the crop represents 
the larger the quantity of fertilizer that can 
be used with profit. Large applications of 
fertilizer never pay on thin, poorly prepared 
soils. The amount of fertilizer to use is a 
question of economics as well as of crop culture. 
With i2-cent cotton the farmer can realize 
large returns from 600 to 800 pounds per acre 
on soils in good condition. 

Different Forms of Fertilizing Materials. — 
Elsewhere we have suggested some of the most 
common sources of nitrogen, phosphoric acid, 
and potash. In the formula given acid phos- 
phate and cotton seed meal have been used. 
They are the most commonly known and more 
generally used. If for any good reason it is 
desirable to substitute other materials in the 
mixture, it can be readily done. Simply sub- 
stitute in proper porportions. Ordinarily 
nitrate of soda should not be used in making 
mixed fertilizers. It is better to use it as a top- 



62 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

dressing for growing crops. Where nitrate of 
soda is used for cotton, apply it about the time 
the plant begins to fruit. If more than lOO 
pounds per acre is used make two applications 
fifteen days apart. 

Methods of Mixing. — The mixing of fertili- 
zers on the farm can be done very satisfactorily 
by emptying the raw materials on a tight floor 
of wood or concrete; or if more convenient 
it may be done on a hard, dirt floor under a shed 
or outhouse. 

It is better not to empty over 400 to 600 
pounds at one time, as it can be more readily 
and thoroughly mixed in small quantities. The 
mixing can be done with hoes and shovels by 
turning over two or three times and continu- 
ing this process until the desired quantity Is 
ready for use. This method of home mixing 
is very desirable where the farmer wishes to 
leave out any element or in any way change 
the proportion to better suit special conditions. 

Hozv to Apply Commercial Fertilizers. — 
Before applying commercial fertilizers prepare 
the soil thoroughly. Where 500 pounds of 
fertilizer or less Is used for cotton put it all out 
In one application In the furrow about ten days 



FERTILIZERS FOR COTTON 63 

before planting and mix well with the soil. On 
deep sandy soils it may be best to make two 
applications; one half at planting and remainder 
at second cultivation. Where 600 or more 
pounds per acre are used two applications 
may be made, one half in the furrow before 
planting and the remainder as side applications 
at the second working of the crop. When 
using 1,000 pounds or more, make two or more 
applications or broadcast the entire amount 
before planting. 

The depth to which the commercial fertilizer 
is applied is important. Experiments have 
shown that about three inches is the proper 
depth in all except semi-arid regions, where it 
should be put deeper. It has been a common 
practice among farmers to apply fertilizers too 
deep. 

The following facts regarding fertilizers 
should be kept in mind by the cotton farmer: 

1. Never allow the waste of barnyard 
manure. 

2. All waste and by-products from the 
farm should be returned to the land. 

3. Rotation of crops is essential for per- 
manent soil building. Legumes and green crops 



64 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

should be grown liberally and turned under 
to furnish humus, and keep the soil in good 
mechanical condition. 

4. The greatest benefit to be derived from 
commercial fertilizers is in combination with 
farm manures and green crops turned under. 
A much more liberal application can be made 
profitable under these conditions. 

5. A general and rather liberal use of 
commercial fertilizer can be recommended 
if intelligence and good judgment is displayed. 

6. Excessive and reckless use of commercial 
fertilizer should be avoided. Beyond a certain 
limit profits are much more uncertain. 

7. One application on clay soils has been 
found as satisfactory as more where less than 
500 pounds per acre were used. Quickly 
available substances, such as nitrate of soda, 
should be applied to growing crops. When 
large amounts of fertilizer are used, and 
on special soils, two applications are sometimes 
more profitable. 

8. Where all the benefits from fertilizers 
are desired the first season, only readily avail- 
able materials should enter into Its composition. 
For permanent improvement of the soil more 



FERTILIZERS FOR COTTON 65 

slowly available materials may be used and 
these are usually cheaper. 

9. The effect of fertilizers on crops after 
the first year depends on season, soil condition, 
and materials used. 

10. Fertilizers give best results when not 
applied more than two or three inches deep, ex- 
cept when used on dry land, then they should 
be deeper. 

11. Organic nitrogen such as cottonseed 
meal, dried blood, tankage, and fish scrap 
have been found preferable in mixed fertilizers 
where only one early application is made. 

12. Potash is not needed on much of the 
cotton soils as a fertilizer, but kainit has been 
found greatly beneficial on soils subject to <pot- 
ton rust. 

13. Home mixing is profitable. A better 
grade of materials can be had, and the mixing 
can be done to suit special soils or crops. 

14. A judicious use of fertilizers will increase 
yields on any soil. It hastens maturity so 
that cotton may be grown farther north, and 
also makes it possible to offset insect damage. 

15. Rotation of crops is very beneficial on 
the cotton farm, especially if all the crops are 



66 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

fertilized. In this way the benefits from the 
fertilizers will be cumulative. 

i6. If nitrogen-gathering crops are grown 
and manures and waste matter about the farm 
plowed under and incorporated with the soil, 
the mechanical condition will be greatly im- 
proved and little nitrogen (the most expensive 
element in fertilizers) will have to be purchased. 

17. Where cotton has been grown exclu- 
sively on lands for a long period, a complete 
fertilizer is necessary, but where rotation has 
been practised only two of the elements and 
sometimes but one will have to be purchased. 
The actual field experiments of the individual 
farmer will be necessary to determine what 
elements are required. A close study of these 
problems by the farmer will save money now 
uselessly squandered on commercial manure. 



Improvement of Cotton by Seed Selection 



CHAPTER VI 

IMPROVEMENT OF COTTON BY SEED SELECTION 

THE careful selection of the best seed Is 
a matter of Importance to the cotton 
farmer. It has been a too common 
practice to plant Inferior mixed seed from the 
gin or oil mill, no attention having been given 
to seed selection. Tests show conclusively that 
by selecting the best seed from the most desir- 
able stalks the yield will be from lo to 20 per 
cent, more than where gin run seed, even of the 
same variety, are used. At the present price 
of cotton the loss to the farmer who plants poor 
seed win be from $5 to $15 per acre. 

Cotton Is a plant which Is very susceptible to 
Improvement by seed selection, and can be 
greatly modified In form and habit In a very 
few successive crops. The bloom Is large 
and open and cross fertilization Is constantly 
taking place by means of Insects and other 
causes. The cotton plant sports easily and 

69 



70 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

responds quickly to differences in environment, 
soil, climate, treatment, and fertilization. This 
is an aid to the farmer if he uses care in selecting 
his seed, but if no attention is given to seed 
selection, the plant will show deterioration year 
after year. 

The main points to be considered in improv- 
ing cotton seed are — variety or type, selec- 
tion, ginning, and storage. By type is meant 
the kind of stalk, bolls, lint, and general char- 
acteristics. There are but few botanical va- 
rieties, but there are a large number of what 
might be called "Agricultural varieties" and 
these agricultural varieties have a great many 
more names than there are recognizable forms. 
There are a great many varieties that have 
been developed by the careful work of the most 
progressive farmers through years of seed 
selection. Each farmer should decide which 
type or variety is best suited to his conditions, 
should grow it exclusively and continue to 
improve it. In choosing a variety, too little 
attention is often given to some qualities and 
too much to others. In making a choice 
of a variety the following points should be 
given careful attention and consideration: 



SEED SELECTION 71 

adaptability, productiveness, earliness, habit of 
growth, length and strength of fiber, size of 
seed, and susceptibility to disease. A desir- 
able type of upland cotton is one having a 
strong, vigorous, short-jointed stalk with plenty 
of fruit limbs on the lower half; fruit limbs 
short-jointed and extending to the outer 
border of the plant and fruiting to the end; 
large bolls, storm resisting; a high percentage 
of lint; medium-size seed; staple at least one 
and one eighth inches, and strong: plant 
hardy, early, and prolific. 

Simplest Method of Seed Selection. — The 
simplest method of seed selection is for one 
careful hand to go ahead of the pickers at 
the first or second picking and take the best 
bolls, from near the heart of the stalk, from 
such plants as nearest approach the type 
for which the grower is selecting. Store this 
selected seed cotton in a dry place and wait until 
the gins are not crowded, then carefully clean 
the gin, put down a sheet to catch the seed, 
and run the selected cotton through. Store 
these seeds in a dry place until it is time for 
planting. This kind of seed selection will 
aid in maintaining the excellence and purity 



72 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

of a good variety and is practicable for farmers 
who cannot devote much time to cotton 
breeding. 

Plant-to-the-Row Method. — A much better 
plan and one that should be adopted by the 
farmer who wants to do careful seed breeding 
is to have a breeding patch, separated as far 
as possible from any other cotton to avoid 
cross fertilization. It will be best to have 
this breeding patch at least one fourth of a 
mile from any other cotton. Select a plat 
of ground for this purpose having uniform 
character and fertility of soil. From the best 
field of cotton each year select one hundred 
stalks, or as many as can be conveniently 
handled, and gin the cotton from each stalk 
separately. A specially constructed small gin 
will be best for this purpose, but if this cannot 
be had the seed can be planted without ginning. 

Lay off the seed patch in rows of equal 
length and uniform width and plant the seed 
from each stalk in a separate row. Mark 
the rows off in checks of equal width and plant 
the seed in hills. Plants may show marks of 
excellence due to favorable environments but 
by keeping the seed from each plant separate, 



SEED SELECTION 73 

and planted in separate rows, the good qualities 
inherited from the parent plant will be easily 
determined, and it is reasonable to suppose 
that these plants will transfer their good 
qualities to their offspring. From the rows 
showing that the plants have inherited the good 
qualities of theirparent plant, select one hundred 
plants to be planted in the plant-to-a-row 
patch the second year. The remainder of the 
seed from the best stalks in the rows showing 
the most excellence may be selected and planted 
in a larger field from which seed can be grown 
to plant the entire crop the year following. 

The following diagram by Webber illustrates 
seed breeding by the plant-to-a-row method: 

1st Year 2nd Year 3rd Year 4th Year 5th Year 

Select Plant (i)/ 500)/ 5 1 ( General) ( ) 

t Plants] 1 Acres j ( Crop j ( j 

Select Plant (i) f 500 ) f $ ) (General) 
(Plants) I Acres j ( Crop j 

Select Plant (i) f 500 | f 5 ) 
1 Plants j \ Acres ) 

Select Plant (i) f 500 \ 
\ Plants j 

I 
Select Plant (i) 



74 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

Cross Fertilization. — When it is desired to 
combine the good qualities of two varieties 
in a single stock, this work can be best ac- 
complished by cross fertilization. It is quite 
probable that most of the varieties which have 
been developed from single plants have really 
originated by means of accidental crossing of 
different varieties. 

While cross fertilization is the surest method 
for the production of new varieties, it is largely 
work in the dark, as plants resulting from the 
crosses may inherit the weak qualities of both 
parents without showing the good qualities 
of either. It is often necessary to make a 
hundred or more crosses before producing a 
plant showing the desired combinations. Even 
after a plant has been secured showing the 
desired qualities the majority of its offspring 
will not inherit these qualities. After the 
cross is made and a plant of desired type 
secured it is then necessary to practise care- 
ful seed selection for a number of years before 
there is much uniformity between the different 
plants. 

While there is much variation between in- 
dividual plants resulting from a single line 



SEED SELECTION 75 

of crossing, still, as a general rule, the character 
of stalk and the habit of growth in the future 
plant will be more like the female parent, while 
the fruit of the plant will be more like the male 
parent. 

It will not be found very difficult to artifi- 
cially cross fertilize flowers of the cotton plants. 

Near sunset select a large, well-developed 
flower bud that would be open the next morning, 
and carefully remove the anthers from the 
flower by means of a small pair of scissors or 
a sharp, thin bladed knife, using care not 
to bruise the pistil of the flower. As soon 
as the anthers are removed tie a paper bag 
over the mutilated flower to keep out insect 
visitors. 

Next pick out a large, well developed bud 
on the plant that is to furnish the pollen and 
tie over the bud a paper bag to keep out 
the insects. The following morning the pistil 
will be fully developed and ready to receive 
pollen. Pull the entire flower that is to furnish 
the pollen and rub its anthers lightly over the 
stigma of the flower from which the anthers 
were removed. Again place the paper bag 
over the cross poUenated flower and leave 



76 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING CO'f'TON 

until the young boll is developed, which will 
be in four or five days. The paper bag should 
then be removed and the boll carefully labelled 
with a small tag so that it can be readily 
identified at harvest time. 



Varieties of American Upland Cotton 



CHAPTER VII 

VARIETIES OF AMERICAN UPLAND COTTON 

THE American upland varieties of cotton 
are commercially divided into two 
groups — short staple or those having 
a fiber three fourths to one and one eighth inches 
in length, and long staple or those having a 
fiber from one and three sixteenths inches to 
one and five eighths inches. 

Short staple varieties when grown on moist 
alluvial soils frequently produce a staple 
slightly longer than one and one eighth inches, 
but hardly long enough to be classed in the long 
staple group. This grade of cotton is known 
commercially as rivers or benders. 

Varieties of American Upland Cotton. — There 
are several hundred so-called varieties of cotton, 
but a large number of these are practically 
identical. This multiplication of names has 
been brought about largely by farmers who 
secure seed of some standard variety and 

79 



8o KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

after growing it for one or two seasons, give 
it their own name or some local name for 
commercial purposes. 

Classification of P^arieties. — There are several 
methods of classification of American upland 
cotton. They may be classified according to 
conformation of stalk, length of staple, earli- 
ness, size of boll, and percentage of lint. 

J. F. Duggar, Director of Alabama Experi- 
ment Station, Bulletin 140, divides American 
upland into eight groups. His classification 
with description of each group is as follows: 

(1) Cluster varieties, or Dickson type. 

(2) Semi-cluster varieties, or Peerless type. 

(3) Rio Grande varieties, or Peterkin type. 

(4) The King-like varieties, or King type. 

(5) Big Boll varieties, or Truitt type. 

(6) Long Limb varieties, or Petit Gulf 
type. 

(7) Intermediate varieties, or various types. 

(8) Long Staple Upland varieties, or Allen 
type. 

The lines of demarkatlon between these 
groups are not always clear and distinct; one 
group often merges into another by almost 



AMERICAN UPLAND COTTON 8 1 

imperceptible gradations, just as is the case 
with related varieties. 

Below is given a list of the varieties which 
are included under these several groups, and 
also a general description of the varieties 
composing each class. Some varieties are not 
classified, either because of insufficient data, 
or more frequently because badly mixed. 
In cases of a medium degree of impurity, or 
variation, description has been made of the 
predominant type. 

Group I: Cluster Varieties, or Dickson 
Type. — The most striking characters are (i) 
the extreme shortness of the fruit limbs, and 
(2) the tendency of the bolls to grow in 
clusters, often two and even three from the 
same node. The plants are often tall and 
always slender and normally erect, though 
often bent down by the weight of bolls growing 
near the upper end of the main stem. The 
few base limbs are often long, or there may be 
no wood limbs, especially when these varieties 
are closely crowded or grown on poor land. 
The bolls and seed are usually small, but 
may be of medium size; the seed are thickly 
covered with fuzz, which is usually whit- 



82 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

ish, with little or no brownish or greenish 
tinge. 

As to the time of maturity these varieties 
must be classed as early, even though they 
sometimes make a second growth of bolls in 
the top of the plant which may fail to mature. 
In earliness they are surpassed by the varieties 
of the King type (Class IV). 

In percentage of lint they are variable, some 
of them equalling in this respect the Rio 
Grande group. 

Dickson, Jackson (also called Limbless or 
African), U. S. Dept. Agr., No. 128, and Wel- 
born, belong to this group. 

Group II: Semi-cluster Varieties, or Peer- 
less Type. — These varieties have in less 
marked degree some of the qualities which 
distinguish Class I, being erect and having 
bolls borne singly very near together. Along 
the main stem are short fruit limbs increas- 
ing in length toward the bottom of the stem. 
The two to five base or wood limbs are usually 
of medium length. In size of bolls and size of 
seed and percentage of lint there is considerable 
diversity among these varieties. The seeds are 
usually well covered with fuzz of many shades, 




o 
rn 

c 
o 

-M 
-t-J 
O 

U 



^ 



8 




a 



o 



re g 



o < s 






w 



AMERICAN UPLAND COTTON 83 

whitish, greenish, or brownish. Most of these 
varieties are early or medium, but some that 
belong in both the semi-cluster and big boll 
groups are late in maturing. The following 
varieties are included in the semi-cluster group: 
Barnett, Berryhill, Blue Ribbon (L. S.), Cum- 
mings, Defiance, Dongola (B. B.), Feather- 
stone, Garrard, Haralson (B. B.), Hardin, 
Hawkins, Herndon, Hilliard, Lealand, McCall, 
Minor, Montclare (B. B.), Norris, Peerless, 
PuUnot, Rogers (B. B.), Sterling, Tyler, and 
Woodfin. 

Group III: Rio Grande Varieties^ or Peter- 
kin Type. — The characters which most dis- 
tinctly mark this class are: 

(i) The large proportion of lint, usually 
35 per cent, or more, of the weight of seed 
cotton, and 

(2) Seeds of which many are bare of fuzz, 
except at the tip end, or so scantily covered 
with fuzz that the dark seed hull shows through. 

The plants are well branched, and usually, 
on upland soils, of medium size. On many 
plants the stems and branches are of a deep 
red color. The bolls are small to medium 
and the seeds are quite small. In time of 



84 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

maturing these varieties are usually neither 
very early nor extremely late. 

The varieties included in this group are 
conveniently divided into two sub-groups ac- 
cording to the presence or absence of naked, 
smooth seed. The following Rio Grande vari- 
eties have a considerable proportion of naked 
seed: Ansom Cream, Bates, Braddy, Brannon, 
Cameron, Carolina Queen, Champion, Combi- 
nation, Crossland, Dixie Wilt-Resistant, Moss, 
Parker, Peterkin, Pinkerton, Ptomey, Shine 
Black Seed, Sistrunk, Texas Oak, Texas Wood, 
Victor, and Wise. 

Rio Grande varieties having practically no 
naked seed, but having many seeds so scantily 
clothed with fuzz that the dark seed coat 
shows through, giving a brown color, are the 
following: 

Berryhill, Borden, Dearing, (probably) 
Eureka Favorite, (probably) Gregg, Layton, 
Park's Own, Speight, and (probably) Toole. 

Group IV: King-Like Varieties, or King 
Type. — The varieties of this group are the 
earliest of American cottons. The plants are 
usually small but may be of medium size. 
The limbs are numerous and the fruit limbs 



AMERICAN UPLAND COTTON 85 

are rather long in proportion to the height 
of plant. The fruit limbs are often crooked 
at the joints, reminding one of the crooked 
twigs of a black jack oak. The base limbs 
are short and sometimes replaced by fruit 
limbs bearing a number of bolls on each. 
King is essentially a short-jointed, compact 
plant with an abundance of slender, rather 
crooked limbs. The bolls of this group are 
small; the seeds are usually small and thickly 
covered with fuzz which is usually brownish, 
with an occasional seed showing a greenish 
tint. The percentage of lint is usually 33 
to 35, and sometimes higher. King and its 
synonyms have on many blooms a red spot 
near the base of the inner portion of each petal. 
The varieties of this group are: Dozier, Grier, 
Golddust, Hodge, King, Simpkins, ■ Lowry, 
Mascot, Missonary, and probably Shine Early. 
Group V: Big Boll Varieties or Truitt 
Types. — The character which especially dis- 
tinguishes this class is the large size of bolls, 
of which only 45 to 68 are required to yield a 
pound of seed cotton. Other specially nota- 
ble qualities are late maturity and vigorous 
growth of stalk. The seeds are large or very 



86 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

large, and covered with a thick fuzz, generally 
brownish white or whitish, a part of the seed 
of many of these varieties being covered with 
a deep green fuzz. The per cent, of lint often 
runs rather low and is usually between 31 and 
35. The bolls are not closely clustered; in 
some varieties the upper limbs are so short 
as to give the top of the plant the erect, slen- 
der appearance which is common among semi- 
cluster varieties. In typical plants the base 
limbs are of short or medium length, the num- 
ber of fruit limbs and bolls relatively few, 
and the main stem is rather short. However, 
a number of varieties are Included here that 
have all or many of their plants of the semi- 
cluster form. 

The following varieties belong in this group: 
Alex. Allen, Anderson, Bancroft, Banks, Berry, 
Bohemian, Cheise, Christopher, Cleveland, 
Cliett, Cook Improved, Coppedge, Culpep- 
per, Diamond, Double Header, Dongola, 
Drake (Ala.), Duncan, Ellis, Grayson, Gunn, 
Haralson, Hunnlcutt Big Boll, Hutchinson, 
Jones, Langford, Lee, Maddox, Montclare, 
Mortgage Lifter, Ozler Big Boll, Reliable, 
Rogers, Rowden, Rurallst, Russell, Scogin, 



AMERICAN UPLAND COTTON 87 

Sewell, Schley, Smith Improved, Smith Stand- 
ard, Southern Wonder, Spearman, Strickland, 
Tatum, Texas Bur, Texas Storm Proof, Thrash, 
Todd, Triumph, Truitt, Webber-Russell, Whit- 
ten, and Wyche. 

Group VI: Long Limb Upland Varieties 
Petit Gulf Type. — The varieties in this class 
grow to large size and have long limbs and 
long joints, the plants presenting a straggling 
appearance or want of compactness. The 
bolls and seeds are both of medium to 
large size, the latter covered with fuzz of 
various shades. The per cent, of lint is 
usually low. The long limb form is usually 
accompanied by unproductiveness on average 
upland soil. 

The following varieties are included in this 
group: Hagaman, Louisiana, Peeler, Petit 
Gulf, and probably Red Leaf. 

Group VII: Intermediate Varieties or Vari- 
ous Types. — This group is here added to the 
scheme of classification published by the 
writer in 1899, primarily to include varieties 
having limbs a little too long to bring them 
within the semi-cluster class. It is also made 
to include a few other varieties that are inter- 



00 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

mediate between any two of the other seven 
groups. 

To this division are assigned, Breden, Boyd, 
Edgeworth, Eureka, Excelsior, Gold Standard, 
Hunnicutt (J. B.), Lewis, Meredith, Roby, 
Rosser, (probably) Shine Early, Sprueill, (pos- 
sibly) Toole, Tucker, and Webber-Russell. 

Group VIII: Long Staple Varieties, or Allen 
Type. — The length of staple is the distinguish- 
ing characteristics. The lint usually measures 
i\ to i| inches in length. An almost invari- 
able accompaniment to great length of staple 
is a low proportion of lint. 

The plants grow to large size, have limbs of 
great length, and usually present a straggling 
appearance, though in some varieties only the 
base limbs are long, the upper limbs bearing a 
number of bolls close to the main stem, and 
giving the upper portion of the plant the 
appearance of great prolificacy. 

The bolls are not very large, but are long, 
usually slender, tapering to a sharp point. 
Most of these long staple varieties are late in 
maturing a crop. 

The seeds are mostly of medium to large size, 
usually densely covered with fuzz, from which 




Big boll group: Truitt variety 

The King-like, or Early group : 

Shine variety 



Varieties of cotton 



)i coiion 

Cluster group: Jackson limbless 

variety 
Semi-cluster group: 

variety 



Hawkins 




Varieties of cotton 
Sea Island Upland long-staple group: Allen 



Rio Grande Group: Peterkin 
variety 



vanety 

A stalk showing desirable type of 
Upland cotton 



AMERICAN UPLAND COTTON 89 

all trace of green is absent, the color being 
almost pure white, or in some varieties of a 
brownish tint. In some varieties the seeds are 
bare. In the long staple group are included: 

Allen Long Staple, Allen Hybrid Long Staple, 
Black Rattler, Blue Ribbon, Cobweb, Cook 
Long Staple, Colthorp, Davis, Florodora, 
Gholson, GrifRn, Keno, Laclede, Ozier Long 
Staple, Simms, Sunflower, and Wonderful. 

Relative Value of Varieties. — The relative 
value of the different varieties can be determined 
only by the number of dollars per acre each 
will bring. Each section of the cotton growing 
belt should secure varieties specially adapted 
to the particular conditions by which they are 
to be surrounded. W. R. Perkins, of the Mis- 
sissippi Experiment Station, in a test of sixteen 
well-known varieties, under the same conditions 
and with the same cultivation found the differ- 
ence in value per acre of the best over the poor- 
est was $19.25 one year, and $26.81 another 
year. This wide range of values would certainly 
indicate that ascertaining the proper variety 
to be grown was necessary for success. A 
variety may succeed well in one locality and 
when transferred to another section and planted 



90 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

on a different soil may not maintain its good 
qualities. Some varieties are more liable to 
suffer from insects than others; some are more 
susceptible to certain diseases than others; 
some produce fairly well under almost any 
condition while others produce well under 
favorable conditions, but fail miserably on 
unfavorable soils or with unfavorable cli- 
matic conditions. Some of the long staple 
varieties which produce a long, strong, silky 
fiber on moist rich alluvial river bottom soil, 
fail to produce as good quality of lint or as 
satisfactory yield per acre when planted on 
high dry uplands. 

The yield of lint per acre of long staple cot- 
ton on the same land and with the same treat- 
ment will be from 30 to 40 per cent, less than 
short cotton. Long staple cotton is more ex- 
pensive to harvest on account of the size and 
shape of boll, making it harder to pick and 
requires more care and expense in ginning. 
For the farmer to be justified in growing long 
staple cotton he should receive at least 
a premium of 40 per cent, over the price 
of short cotton. In other words, when 
short cotton is selling at ten cents per 



AMERICAN UPLAND COTTON QI 

pound long staple cotton will have to sell 
for about fourteen cents per pound for the 
farmer to realize as much per acre from 
it. 

On lands suitable, the big boll cottons are 
preferable for the following reasons: The 
plants are stronger and more vigorous, it is 
much easier to harvest, and not so liable 
to damage from rain or storm when harvesting 
is delayed. 

In purchasing seed of the chosen variety 
attention should be given to the care that has 
been exercised in seed selection by the grower 
and not to advertisements of extra large 
yields. It is also best to procure seeds that 
were grown near by, if possible, as they are 
already acclimated and adapted to local 
conditions. 

The following varieties of small boll early 
short staple cottons have taken high rank in 
yield of lint per acre at experiment stations 
in recent years: 

Toole Trice 

Simpkins Hawkins 

King 

The following big boll short staple cottons 



92 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

have taken high rank in yiekl of lint per 

acre: 

Triumph Russell 

Cleveland Cook's Improved 

Truitt 

Triumph, Cleveland, and Cook's Improved 
are medium early, Truitt and Russell are late 
maturing. 

The following long staole cottons have 
taken high rank: 

Columbia Grifhn 

Hartwell Allen 

Sunflower 

Sea Island Cotton. — Sea Island cotton is a 
native of the West Indies and Central 
America and is grown only in a limited 
area in South Carolina, Georgia, and Flor- 
ida, and oflF-lying islands. It is seldom 
profitable when grown more than one hun- 
dred or one hundred and twenty-five miles 
from the seacoast. 

The plant grows rather tall, has long, slender 
branches, leaves with long slender lobes, the 
bolls are small, slender and sharp pointed 
having usually only three locks, and the fiber 




American Upland cotton 

Leaves: flower opening creamy white in the morning, closing arid 
changing to rose pink in the afternoon; unopened bolls; mature open 
bolls with cotton ready for picking 




Cotton boll with anthracnose 
Root-knot on cotton plant 



AMERICAN UPLAND COTTON 93 

is fine and silky, ranging from i| to 2 inches 
in length. 

Sea Island cotton produces the finest staple 
of any cotton grown and is used to manu- 
facture thread and the most expensive cotton 
fabrics. 



Some Cotton Diseases and Insect Pests 
With Suggestions for Their Control 




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CHAPTER VIII 

SOME COTTON DISEASES AND INSECT PESTS WITH 
SUGGESTIONS FOR THEIR CONTROL 

THE cotton plant Is subject to more dis- 
eases and insect enemies than any of 
the farm crops of the South. This is 
to some extent due to the delicate nature of 
the plant in its early life. It is also partly due 
to the fact that cotton has been forced to adapt 
itself to more or less artificial conditions; it is 
naturally a tropical plant. While cotton has 
its origin in tropical climates, it is very largely 
grown commercially in semi-tropical countries, 
and under entirely changed conditions. It is 
probably better for the average cotton producer 
that the cotton plant has its enemies, for with 
nothing to check Its growth and production 
the supply would be largely in excess of demand. 
Anthracnose or Pink Boll Rot. — This Is a 
fungus which causes the bolls to rot and is more 
or less prevalent in all parts of the cotton 

97 



98 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

belt. No variety of cotton is entirely free 
from this disease, but some varieties are more 
subject to it than others. 

This disease first appears on the bolls as 
very small, dark spots, which enlarge and 
become somewhat sunken in the centres, 
which are pink or reddish brown. 

The disease is spread by spores formed on the 
diseased areas and is carried over winter in 
Infected seed and possibly in old cotton plants. 
Anthracnose is worse in wet than in dry sea- 
sons. By giving the cotton plenty of space 
to let in sunlight and air the disease will be 
less prevalent. 

It is claimed by some farmers and investi- 
gators that deep breaking the land in the fall 
completely burying all old cotton plants has 
a tendency to lessen the damage from this 
disease. 

In selecting seed be careful to avoid selecting 
from plants affected by anthracnose. 

Cotton Wilt. — This is a fungous disease 
which attacks the roots and stems of the 
plant. It enters the roots from the soil and 
plugs up the water carrying vessels of the 
roots and stems. 






) y/^^-^^ 




A young cotton plant dying from wilt 




A typical plant of Dillon wilt-resistant cotton 



SOME COTTON DISEASES 99 

This disease first makes its outward appear- 
ance in a cotton field by a sudden wilting of 
the leaves which turn yellow and fall without 
apparent reason. 

An examination of the roots of a freshly 
wilted plant that has been attacked by the 
wilt fungus always shows a blackened condi- 
tion of the inner wood of the root or stem. 

So far as known cotton and okra are the only 
plants the cotton wih fungus lives on as a 
parasite. 

This disease cannot be controlled by the 
application of potash as some farmers suppose. 

The wilt fungus lives in the soil and is 
spread by the plow, by drainage water, by 
cattle, by manure, and other means of carry- 
ing the spores from one place to another. No 
direct proof is available that this disease has 
been spread by planting seed from infected 
fields, but many cases have been reported 
which indicate that the disease may be spread 
in this way. 

In every field attacked by wilt there will be 
found a few plants not affected by the disease. 
By selecting seed from these plants a strain 
of cotton may be secured practically immune 



lOO KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

to the disease. Another means suggested 
for the control of this disease is by practising 
crop rotation, using in the rotation crops that 
are not aifected by the wilt fungus and the 
nematode worm — a very small worm which 
attacks the roots of plants causing root knot. 
It is claimed that the attack of this worm on 
the cotton roots makes it easier for the wilt 
germ to enter. The plants that may be used 
in a rotation to free the land of wilt are: corn, 
wheat, oats, rye, iron cowpea, Brabham cow- 
pea, velvet bean, beggar weed, and grasses. 

The United States Department of Agri- 
culture has developed two varieties of cotton 
which show great resistance to wilt, viz., 
Dixie and Dillon. 

Cotton Rust. — Cotton "rust" first makes an 
outward appearance by a mottled yellowish 
color of the leaves in dry weather or a sudden 
blackening and shedding of the foliage in wet 
weather. This disease is probably due to a 
poor mechanical condition of the soil and the 
lack of some plant food element, usually potash. 
Soils affected with rust are greatly benefited by 
turning into them heavy crops of vegetable mat- 
ter, and by a rather liberal application of potash. 



SOME COTTON DISEASES lOI 

The Cotton Boll-Worm. — • Perhaps the earliest 
insect to do serious damage to the cotton crop 
was the boll-worm. It also attacks the corn 
and tomato plant. It is known in corn as 
the common ear-worm, getting its name from 
the fact that the moth, laying the eggs, deposits 
them on the silk of the young ear of the corn. 
Here they hatch out and go into the ear and 
feed on the tip end grains as they reach the 
roasting ear stage. 

The cotton boll- worm Is a large green to dark 
brown worm that destroys the partially grown 
cotton bolls by eating Into them. 

They will invariably attack corn If In reach 
before going to cotton. The best way to 
combat this enemy in the cotton plant Is to 
use corn as a catch crop for them. When 
corn Is used for a catch crop, several plantings 
should be made so that it will give the worm 
something to feed on continually, without 
resorting to the cotton patch. This may be done 
by planting a few rows of corn around the 
cotton patch, or if preferred, two or three rows 
may be planted at intervals through the fields. 
Some good may be done by the use of poison. 
For poison to be effective It should be applied 



I02 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

several times during the season. The poison 
generally used for this purpose is dry Paris- 
green, which is sprinkled over the plants, 
preferably in the early morning while the dew is 
still on them. The boll-worm never attacks 
nor injures cotton except in the bloom and 
small boll. 

A single moth may lay as many as one thou- 
sand eggs. The eggs are laid on all parts of 
the plant, but especially on the leaves. After 
the worm hatches it feeds on the tender leaves 
until strong enough to cut into a boll. Each 
worm will destroy the contents of one or more 
bolls. When full grown the worm drops to 
the ground, and burrows two or three inches 
below the surface, where it remains until it 
emerges as a full grown moth. There will 
usually be from four to five generations in a 
season. 

The boll-worm passes the winter in the ground 
in the pupa stage. Many of these ins-ects can 
be destroyed by breaking the land deep in the 
fall or early winter. 

The Cotton Caterpillar. — This Is one of the 
earliest insect enemies of cotton in the United 
States. It is sometimes known as the "web- 





A field ul Upland cotton in South Carolina destroyed 

by wilt 

Wilt-resistant Dillon cotton on adjoining land badly 

infected with wilt 




•^^^-■^ 




Moths of cotton boll-worm 
Pupa of boll-worm in its underground burrow 



SOME COTTON DISEASES I03 

worm," or "army-worm." It appears almost 
every year to a limited extent. It has proven 
disastrous to the cotton crop only a few times in 
the United States. Its ravages do not extend 
over a very considerable amount of territory 
during any one season. 

There are four stages in the life of the cotton 
worm: the egg, the larva, the pupa, and the 
adult. The adult cotton worm is a brownish 
yellow or grayish colored moth, the wings of 
which expand from one and one eighth to one 
and one half inches. The moth deposits its 
eggs on the under side of the leaf of the plant 
where it hatches out in very hot weather in 
about three days. 

The worm or larva feeds upon the leaves of 
the plant, and when very numerous will attack 
the squares and the outer surface of the bolls 
and even the twigs. It has been known to 
destroy a whole field in a few days and then 
move to another field in such numbers as to 
derive the name of "army-worm." 

The cotton leaf worm or caterpillar transforms 
to the pupal stage on the cotton plant. The 
beginning of this stage is known as "webbing 
up." The time required from the hatching out 



I04 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

of the larva or worm to the "webbing up" or 
pupal stage is about fifteen days. Usually 
the caterpillar spins a crude web or cocoon 
using a portion of the leaf for the purpose, 
but in many cases no web whatever is formed, 
and the naked pupa hangs from the cotton 
plant by means of a thread spun by the cater- 
pillar. The time required from the "webbing 
up" to the hatching out of the moth is in very 
hot weather from seven to ten days. The 
complete life cycle from eggs to moth will be 
completed In hot weather In from three to 
four weeks. A single moth lays from four to 
six hundred eggs In a week or ten days and 
then dies. 

From the fact that the worm feeds on the 
foliage of the plant. It may be effectively 
controlled by the use of poisons; Paris-green, 
arsenate of lead, London purple, or any of the 
arsenical poisons may be used for this purpose. 
The most common method of poisoning is by 
applying Paris-green mixed with one or two 
parts of flour or lime. 

The most practical method of application Is 
the one commonly adopted, of sacks attached 
to the ends of poles and carried on horseback 




Stages and work of the cotton worm or cotton caterpillar 




Cotton plant attacked by boll weevil 
a, Hanging dry square infested by weevil larva; b, flared square, 
with weevil punctures; c, cotton boll, sectioned, showing attacking 
weevil and weevil larva in its cell 



SOME COTTON DISEASES IO5 

through the fields. Take a pole about one 
foot longer than the width between the cotton 
rows, and six inches from each end of the pole 
attach a sack or bag containing the poison. 
Cheesecloth will be found a satisfactory- 
material for making the sacks. By the above 
method one hand on horseback can poison two 
rows at a time and cover twenty acres a day. 
The poison should be applied at the first 
appearance of the worm. It is best to make the 
application early in the day when the leaves are 
moist with dew. If the poison is applied on a 
calm day there will be less loss from the poison 
drifting to the ground. . 

The Cotton Boll Weevil. — The most destruc- 
tive of all insects that have attacked the cotton 
plant is the boll weevil, which has only been 
in the United States for the past seventeen or 
eighteen years. It has rapidly spread each 
year since its first appearance and is destined 
within the next decade to cover the entire 
cotton-producing part of the United States. 
The ravages of this enemy are so great that the 
total production of some counties has been 
reduced to less than 10 per cent, of the normal 
production. However, a few years' experience 



Io6 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

with it has overcome the ravages to some degree 
in most sections, and in some cases the farmers 
have almost reached the original production. 

The cotton boll weevil is a member of the 
beetle family. In size it varies from one 
eighth to three eighths inches in length and 
the breadth of its body is about one third its 
length. The color varies from a light yellow- 
ish brown to a chocolate brown. 

The members of the group of Insects to which 
the boll weevil belongs are characterized by 
having part of the head in front of the eyes 
greatly extended to form a long slender snout. 
The snout of the boll weevil is slightly curved 
and is about one half as long as from the head 
to the tip of the body. The distinguishing 
feature of the cotton boll weevil is two tooth- 
like projections on inner side of the fore-legs, 
at the lower end of the thigh, the Inner or one 
nearest the body being longer than the other. 
There are four stages in the life of the weevil, 
the egg, the larva, the pupa, and adult weevil. 

Three of these stages, egg, larva, and pupa 
are passed Inside the cotton square or boll. 
The egg is deposited by the female weevil In a 
cavity formed by eating into a square or boll. 



SOME COTTON DISEASES IO7 

From the egg there hatches in a few days a small, 
white footless grub or worm which begins to 
feed, making a larger place for itself as it grows. 
During the course of its growth the grub or 
larva sheds its skin and the pupa appears. In 
this stage it is inactive and takes no food. In a 
few days the pupa sheds its skin and the full- 
grown weevil appears and in two or three days 
eats its way out of the square or boll and about 
one week later is ready to start another gene- 
ration. 

The time required from the laying of the 
egg to the emergence from the square or boll 
of the full-grown weevil is from fifteen to 
twenty-five days, depending on the season — 
the shorter time being required during very 
warm weather. 

In the extreme southern part of cotton belt 
there will be as many as five generations of 
weevils in one season. In the central part of 
the cotton belt there will be from three to four 
generations. 

The weevil is a very prolific insect, each 
female weevil laying during a lifetime about 
one hundred and forty eggs, so during a season 
it is estimated that one pair of weevils may have, 



Io8 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

under favorable conditions, a living offspring 
of two hundred and fifty thousand. 

The weevil feeds by sucking out the juices 
from the inner portion of the plant, which makes 
it impossible to use poisons effectively in its 
control, as is done with insects which feed upon 
the foliage of the plant. This renders the 
weevil very difficult of control. 

The only way of combating the ravages of 
this insect is by using all means possible to 
hold the weevils in check and by practising 
better cultural methods in producing the crop. 
There are at present no known methods of 
completely destroying the weevil, so it will 
most likely be a factor in all future cotton pro- 
duction in the United States. 

The Bureau of Entomology, U. S. Depart- 
ment of Agriculture, has established the follow- 
ing facts regarding the life history of the 
weevil which are important in outlining methods 
for its control: 

1. The cotton boll weevil feeds upon nothing 

but cotton. 

2. It goes into winter quarters mainly in 

or near the field of its depredations. 




Cotton boll-worm on outside and inside of cotton boll 

Partly opened cotton bolls showing efifects of boll-worm 
damage 




Injury by boll-wee\'il to bolls 

o, Three larvae in boll; b, emergence hole in dry unopened boll; 
c, two larvas in boll ; d, weevils puncturing boll; e, opened boll with 
two locks injured by weevil ; /, large bolls severely punctured 



SOME COTTON DISEASES IO9 

3. That a comparatively small per cent. 

of the total weevils survive the winter 
and emerge in the spring. 

4. That the overwintered weevil feeds upon 

the terminal bud of the young cotton 
plants until the forms or squares de- 
velop, then the female deposits her 
egg's in the squares exclusively at first, 
but later may deposit them in the bolls. 

5. That the life of the adult weevil, when 

supplied with food, is about seventy 
days. If deprived of food it lives 
only six or seven days except in hi- 
bernation . 

6. For a period after emergence from winter 

quarters it is comparatively sluggish 
and while feeding upon the cotton 
plant may be picked or poisoned. 

7. The weevils remain in the field where 

they appear in the early spring until 
they become very numerous. Their 
principal period of migration is in the 
fall. 

Based upon these life habits of the weevil Dr. 
S. A. Knapp, Bureau Plant Industry, U. S. 



no KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

Department of Agriculture, outlined the fol- 
lowing plan for the production of cotton under 
weevil conditions: 

(i) Under boll- weevil infestation the fields 
selected for cultivation should be well drained, 
because a successful crop will then depend upon 
the possibility of cultivating them at the proper 
time. The poorly drained lands should be 
devoted to other crops. They have always 
been an uncertain factor in cotton production. 
It is not the intention to state that well- 
drained alluvial lands should not be planted 
to cotton. 

(2) The early destruction of the cotton 
stalks before frost and the burning of all rubbish 
In and about the Infested field are Imperative. 

(3) Break the field deep as early In the fall 
as possible with an Implement that does not 
bring too much of the subsoil to the surface. 
Some winter cover crop should be grown if 
practicable; if not, harrow occasionally during 
the winter. Before planting, thoroughly pul- 
verize the soil and make the best seed bed 
possible. 

(4) Care must be taken to secure seed of an 
early-maturing variety and of the highest 



SOME COTTON DISEASES III 

vitality — not necessarily a small-boll variety, 
for on uplands we have been more successful 
with some large-boll varieties. 

(5) Plant reasonably early. Planting 
should be delayed until all danger from frost 
is past and the soil is warm enough to produce 
rapid germination and growth. 

(6) The use of the section harrow before 
planting and after planting, and again just as 
soon as the plants are well up, is advised. 

(7) Use intensive, shallow cultivation of the 
crops and never lay by the cotton till picking 
commences. Late cultivation is very important. 

(8) In case it is evident that a large number 
of weevils have been overwintered, it is advis- 
able to hand-pick the early appearing weevils 
from the buds of young cotton plants before 
squares begin to form. 

(9) As soon as the weevil commences to 
work, as evidenced by the punctured squares 
attach a pole or brush to the handles of the 
cultivator so as to knock the squares off. 
Most of them will fall of their own accord in a 
few days after they are punctured. 

(10) Persistently pick up and burn the fallen 
squares. 



112 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

This battle against the weevil is in two di- 
visions: 

The first division of the work consists in 
reducing the number of weevils just as much as 
possible so that a crop can be made. 

The second division is to push the cotton 
plant to maturity as fast as possible and by 
extra cultivation and fertilization cause it to 
put no more forms or squares than it can mature, 
so that what the weevil takes is only a surplus 
— of no consideration in making the crop. 

The burning of the stalks is very destructive 
to the weevils in the field, but its value depends 
considerably on when and how it is done. It 
must be done early and before frost. Demon- 
strations have been made showing that it 
caused the destruction of as many as 97 per 
cent, of the weevils if done early and properly, 
but if delayed it might allow as many as 45 
per cent, to escape. 

There are several methods of destroying the 
stalks. First, every third or fifth row may be 
allowed to stand and the rows on each side 
uprooted and thrown against it. Second, all 
the stalks may be cut and thrown into piles 
of convenient size. In either case, some of 




Effects of boll-weevil attack on leaf and 
a, Cotton leaf much fed upon by adult weevils; b. 



squares 
square with 



two egg punctures; c, flared square with many feeding punctures; d, 
square prevented from blooming by puncture; e, bloom injured by 
feeding puncture; /, poor blooms caused by feeding punctures. 





Poisoning cotton by pole and bag method 
Poisoning cotton by use of spray pump 



SOME COTTON DISEASES II3 

the adult weevils will collect in the windrows 
or piles and be destroyed when the stalks are 
burned. 

Another plan practised is to turn cattle in 
the fields to eat the foliage and immature bolls. 
This plan, however, should not be followed 
except by those farmers who can turn In 
enough cattle to completely clean up the 
field in a week's time. 

The object in destroying the stalks is a 
twofold one: (i) To deprive the adult weevil 
of food and breeding places; (2) to kill the 
vast numbers of weevil eggs, larvae, and pupae 
contained in the squares and immature bolls 
at this time. To make this destruction com- 
plete, the stalks should be burned as soon as 
possible after being cut and piled. As soon 
as the foliage will burn readily fire should be 
applied, although the main stem and branches 
may not yet be dry enough to burn. All 
rubbish in and about the field should also be 
burned and the field immediately broken. 

If this single instruction to destroy all cotton 
stalks in the fall while still green could be 
carried out by every grower, it would practically 
solve the weevil problem. The difficulty is 



114 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

that only part of the growers follow the plan. 
It requires early maturing cottons and rapid 
gathering to get the crop out in time to do this 
work to the best advantage. 

If delay is made until after a heavy frost and 
a large number of the weevils have escaped from 
the field, either to hibernate or to go elsewhere 
then to cut and burn stalks may be of little 
value, and the better practice is to thoroughly 
cut the stalks and plow them under. 

It is seldom practicable for farmers in the 
northern portion of the cotton belt to cut and 
burn stalks early enough to be of value. 

The next most important work in eliminating 
the weevils is in the spring, when the cotton 
plants begin to put on squares and the infesting 
weevil punctures them. The grower should 
take note of this and immediately attach a 
pole to the handles of the cultivator so as to 
knock the bush and hasten the falling off of 
the squares, and then the squares must be 
carefully picked up and burned. In one sense 
this picking up of squares goes to the root of 
the matter more than early fall destruction of 
the stalk, because in the fall destruction only 
a small percentage of the weevils would live 



SOME COTTON DISEASES II5 

through the winter anyway, while we can 
rest assured that practically every square not 
picked up and destroyed, at least in cloudy 
weather, will result in furnishing a boll weevil 
to Infest the crop. We know of hundreds of 
instances where fields were located in the best 
situation for weevil depredation, on bottom 
lands surrounded by heavy timber, with a 
rank growth of cotton and no previous prepara- 
tion or burning of the stalks or destruction of 
the rubbish, and yet by picking up the squares 
and intensive cultivation a large crop of cotton 
was made. If care is taken that every punc- 
tured square is destroyed, a whole generation 
of weevils will be wiped out in two or three 
weeks. The old weevils will die and we can 
go right on making the crop. Of course, in 
sections where there is very slight rainfall and 
on sandy upland soils anywhere during periods 
of dry and very hot weather, dependence may 
be placed on the heat to kill the weevil larvae 
in the squares. 

It will seldom be safe to depend on this on 
alluvial soils and never on any kind of soil 
except under the conditions of drought and 
heat above noted. 



Il6 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

We therefore wish to emphasize the two 
points, the early destruction of the stalks in the 
fall and the picking up and burning of the 
squares, as of primary importance in making a 
successful crop of cotton. The early destruc- 
tion of stalks in the fall has a double advantage. 
It not only kills a vast number of the weevils, 
but it destroys all their supply of food so that 
such as are not killed by fire mostly perish for 
lack of food before winter. 

The crop must be worked regularly and the 
period of cultivation extended until the early 
maturing bolls begin opening. It has been 
found by actual experience that a profitable 
crop may be made under the heaviest infesta- 
tion of the boll weevil if the weather is fairly 
seasonable, that is, if there is not too much rain. 
It is utterly impossible for the farmer to make a 
profitable crop of cotton with the boll weevil 
present under the old system of farming. The 
system of farming has been materially changed 
in every section where the weevil has yet 
appeared. The people have been forced to 
abandon the all-cotton system and to adopt the 
method that will enable them to produce all of 
the home supplies. The first few years have 



SOME COTTON DISEASES 



117 



usually brought about a demoralization of 
conditions, which almost ruins business in the 
community. After the third year, the people 
begin to adapt themselves to the changed 
conditions and it is frequently the case that in 
four or five years after the weevil has en- 
tered a section the people are in really better 
financial condition in every respect than they 
were before the weevil came. 

Other Cotton Insect Enemies. — Other insect 
enemies of the cotton plant are the red spider, 
the plant louse or aphis, and the cut worm. 
The damage from these is never very serious 
and is always confined to local territory. 




COTTON BOLL WEEVIL 
a. Beetle from above; b. same, from side (five times natural size). 
Note the two tooth-liice projections on the inner side of first joint of 
the front legs. 



Harvesting and Marketing Cotton 



CHAPTER IX 

HARVESTING AND MARKETING COTTON 

UNDER harvesting comes cotton picking, 
ginning, and baling. Picking is the 
most expensive item in the production 
of the crop. No machine has yet been per- 
fected that will satisfactorily do this work, and 
it must necessarily be performed by hand. The 
prices for picking cotton range from thirty-five 
cents to a dollar per hundred pounds of seed cot- 
ton, varying with the localities and the season in 
which the picking is done. Hence, the cost of 
picking a bale of 1500 pounds of seed cotton 
ranges from ^5.25 to $15. Picking begins usu- 
ally in the latter part of August and extends to 
the first of December, and in some instances to 
the first of January. At least three pickings 
should be made to gather crop in the best 
condition. The heaviest picking comes in 
October. One man can cultivate from twenty 
to thirty acres of cotton very readily, but it 



122 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

will take four to five good pickers to gather the 
crop fast enough to keep it from being damaged 
by the weather. An experienced picker can 
pick from 150 to 200 pounds per day. The 
average, however, is much less than this. 
Under favorable conditions and with some 
special inducements, a few pickers have gone 
as high as four or five hundred pounds a day. 
Cotton is seldom gathered under the most 
favorable conditions. It should be picked as 
soon as enough bolls open to justify going over 
the field. From three to five bolls per stalk 
make a fairly good picking. If the crop is 
kept up with closely and never allowed to take 
the weather, the standard of the grades is much 
higher and commands better prices. Fre- 
quently, faulty, yellow locks, or dirty cotton is 
picked and thrown in with the good. A few 
bolls of this damaged cotton will injure the 
grade of the entire bale and lessen the value 
from one half to one and one half cents per 
pound. Cotton should not be picked when too 
green as the lint continues to grow and mature 
until the seed have fully dried out. Cotton 
that is blown out on the ground and damaged 
by dirt, if picked should be put in separate 



HARVESTING AND MARKETING COTTON 1 23 

bags and ginned separately. This will insure 
not getting mixed cotton in the bales. The 
exercise of more care in this direction would 
result in an annual saving of many thousands of 
dollars to the farmers of the South. Until 
recent years the common practice was to 
pick almost the entire crop and store it in the 
house for several weeks and haul it to the gin 
after the rush of picking season was over. 
In many respects this custom was a good one 
from the fact that it allowed the cotton to ripen 
up and become thoroughly dry, thus improving 
the staple. It is true that there is some loss in 
the weight of the seed, but this is more than 
made up by the increased price from the im- 
proved quality of the cotton. 

There have been many machines patented 
for the mechanical harvesting of the cotton 
crop, none of which have as yet been entirely 
satisfactory. It is possible that a machine may 
be perfected that will harvest the crop on fields 
favorably situated; but on small farms and 
rough lands it is doubtful whether it will 
be practicable to ever use mechanical contriv- 
ances for gathering the crop. A light ma- 
chine, of moderate cost, adjustable to small 



124 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

farm conditions, would go far toward solving 
the harvesting problem. With a successful 
mechanical picker the cotton acreage could be 
enormously increased and the whole system 
placed on a changed economic basis. 

Ginning. — The second process in harvesting 
cotton is the ginning or separation of the lint 
from the seed. In the early days of cotton 
ginning in this country this was done by hand, 
a man separating from the seed about one 
pound of lint per day. The cotton gin was 
Invented in 1792 and since then has been so 
perfected as to entirely revolutionize the 
cotton industry and make it one of the greatest 
in the world. The modern seventy-saw gin 
stand will gin from ten to fifteen bales a day. 
In big ginneries several stands are connected, 
all arranged for conveying the lint to the same 
press. The lint is carried by conveyors from 
the gin stand to the press, where it is packed into 
bales, varying in weight from 300 to 600 pounds. 
The average commercial bale is rated at 500 
pounds. 

These big plants take care of the crop for a 
considerable territory. The saw gin is used 
for the short and medium staple cottons. 



HARVESTING AND MARKETING COTTON 125 

When long staple cotton is ginned on the saw 
gin it should be run at a low speed, not over 
300 to 400 revolutions a minute. It is a very 
common practice to run a gin too fast and to 
injure the staple of any kind of cotton. This 
is especially true in the busy season, when the 
ginning plants are more or less crowded. For 
ginning very long staples, such as Sea Island, 
what is known as a roller gin is used. This is 
done to prevent cutting the fiber, which may 
occur with the saw gin. 

Before shipment to distant markets, the 
bale is compressed to one half its size. The 
round bale is compressed at the gin. The 
square bales are covered with what is known as 
bagging, which is made of jute in most cases 
and is usually a very poor covering. The 
bale is bound by six steel ties. The average 
American cotton bale presents a very ragged 
appearance. Some sections are using bet- 
ter coverings for their cotton bales, and especi- 
ally is this true where the round bale press is 
used. The round bale is a much neater 
package, and is completely protected from 
damage by handling, dirt, or weather. The 
farmer should demand a better wrapping iot 



126 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

his cotton, requiring the ginner to completely 
cover the bale. The round bale Is perhaps the 
most satisfactory way of putting up cotton. 
This method has never been popular for various 
reasons: mainly from the fact that there is so 
much money invested in the old style press 
and compress that it Is difficult for the round 
bale companies to compete with the old con- 
cerns. Thousands of dollars can be saved 
for the cotton states by a better method of 
packing, wrapping, and handling the crop. 

Much loss is sustained by allowing the bales 
to be exposed to the weather after ginning. 
The cotton bale, when exposed to the weather, 
absorbs moisture, and the outer edges of the 
bales will become discolored and the grade 
injured The poor covering now used on the 
American cotton bale is usually torn off by 
rough handling before reaching the mills. 
This allows the outside of the bale to become 
dirty, thus lowering the grade of the outer 
portion of the bale. 

Marketing. — The common practice on the 
small farm is to haul the cotton bales directly 
to the warehouse or small town market and sell 
to the local merchant. This system, perhaps, 



HARVESTING AND MARKETING COTTON 127 

has some advantages, but there Is much room 
for improvement. There should be some uni- 
form system of grading and storing cotton in 
warehouses until a sufficient amount is collected 
to justify the large buyer to classify and bid on 
the entire lot. The average farmer and local 
merchant know but little about grading cotton, 
consequently, nearly all the cotton in smaller 
markets is sold at about the same price, re- 
gardless of staple or grade. 

The following table shows the official classi- 
fication of cotton grades established by the 
Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Department 
of Agriculture, with the approximate difference 
in value per pound between grades: 



Middling fair 




IC 


above middling 


Strict good middling 




|c 


(( (C 


Good middling . 




fBC 


<( <( 


Strict middling 




ic 


<( (t 


Middling .... 




Basis 




Strict low middling 




ic 


below middling 


Low middling 




^ tofc 


(( (( 


Strict good ordinary- 




Itoic 


<( <( 


Good ordinary . 


I^ 


to lAc 


(C (< 



Mr. D. E. Earle, expert in cotton grading, 
U. S. Department of Agriculture, in an address 



128 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

before the South Carolina Farmers' Institute, 
spoke as follows about the work of cotton 
standardization of the department: 

"The official cotton grades have met with 
the approval of most of the Southern cotton 
exchanges and have been formally adopted at 
the following places : 

"New Orleans, Memphis, St. Louis, Little 
Rock, Natchez, Mobile, Macon, Galveston, 
and Charleston. 

"The New England, the Texas, and also 
the Southern Cotton Buyers' Association have 
agreed to make the official grades the basis 
of their operations. 

"For any grower who desires the grades and 
feels that he cannot afford a complete set, 
the Department has arranged to fill orders 
for any three grades. Low middling, middling, 
and good middling, for instance, usually cover 
the bulk of the crop and for white cotton these 
three boxes would indicate the grade fairly 
close. 

"The price of the nine official cotton grades 
has been reduced from ^30 to $25, and the 
price of the fractional sets have been reduced 
to ^9 that is, ^3 per box or grade." 




1. A farmer comparing his cotton with the Government 
standard grades in a Farmers' Union warehouse 

2. Round bales showing (in centre) method of opening. 

3. Gin-compressed bales on a Mississippi plantation 

ready for shipment to Germany 




Cu 



a 

'5b 



c 

*-t-i 
Cu 
>» 



o 

c 

O 



HARVESTING AND MARKETING COTTON 129 

If some working system of warehouses could 
be organized and maintained on a business 
basis, it would perhaps be the most economi- 
cal way of handling the cotton crop. Mana- 
gers of these houses could collect and classify 
cotton and sell direct to the large buyer. This 
would enable the manufacturer to pay more 
on an average for cotton, since he is thus assured 
of getting large quantities of a product uniform 
in grade. 

The custom of holding cotton for a bet- 
ter price, in the meantime leaving it out 
of doors and unprotected, is not profit- 
able. The actual damage to the cotton is 
often greater than any increase in price that 
may be obtained. 

The old custom of marketing the cotton crop 
through the commission merchants has almost 
been discontinued. This method always placed 
the farmer at the mercy of the buyer, and by 
the time commission, storage, insurance, and 
other fixed charges were deducted, less was 
realized for the cotton than if it had been sold 
in the local market. 

In some places the farmers market their 
cotton by selling in the seed to the public ginner, 



130 KNApP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

instead of having the crop ginned at so much 
cash per bale. The usual cash price for ginning 
and covering in recent years has ranged from 
$2.50 to ^3.50 per bale. Selling seed cotton is 
a bad practice from the farmer's standpoint. 
It puts the farmer at a disadvantage since the 
price is b^sed on a certain grade, and no al- 
lowance is made for advance in prices or for 
premiums on better grades. 

A mutual agreement on some improved 
method of marketing the cotton crop would be 
beneficial alike to producer and spinner. Such 
a system would tend to prevent violent fluctua- 
tion in prices. This reform can only be brought 
about by a closer understanding between grower 
and spinner. The multiplicity of middlemen 
has become an immense burden, not only in 
the cotton business but in the handling of 
all farm crops. 

In the past the entire crop has been thrown 
upon the market in three or four months, when 
it should have been distributed throughout 
the year. The high price of cotton in recent 
years has bettered the financial condition of 
the Southern cotton grower to such an extent 
that in the future the crop can be held and 



HARVESTING AND MARKETING COTTON I3I 

marketed through the year. This should result 
in a more equitable adjustment of values 
between all parties concerned, and at the 
same time eliminate the drain in the form 
of fixed charges that exist under the present 
system. 



Cost of Cotton Production 



CHAPTER X 

COST OF COTTON PRODUCTION 

ONE of the hardest problems for the cot- 
ton farmer to solve with any degree of 
accuracy is cost of production. There 
are so many factors to be dealt with which are 
beyond man's control that no real basis for esti- 
mating the cost of the year's operations can be 
made. In nearly every other business there are 
some known quantities upon which to base cal- 
culations. To the farmer nothing is absolutely 
sure, especially is this true with the cotton 
farmer. Climatic conditions perhaps mean 
more to him than to any one. The returns 
for his year's labor must of necessity depend 
upon the caprice of the rain, the wind, the 
frost or the depredation of numerous insect 
pests. Any one or all of these may in a very 
short period turn a flattering prospect for a 
bountiful crop into almost a complete failure. 
We may take the statistics showing total 



136 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

production of the cotton or the yield per acre 
for a series of years and the variations or 
fluctuations will be quite noticeable. These 
rather wide differences are due largely to 
causes over which the farmer has no control. 
The same general plan of crop management on 
the same land with the same amount of fertil- 
izer, teams, and labor may have been used 
each year and still the yields vary a great deal. 
The total crop production on the same acreage 
with practically the same expenses frequently 
varies as much as 25 per cent, in two successive 
seasons. These extreme fluctuations make a 
wide margin between the cost of production and 
the selling price necessary for the farmer to 
come out with an average profit in the crop. 
The elements of uncertainty which enter into 
the production of every crop, make it impossible 
to estimate the cost. 

The business man or the manufacturer can 
figure with some degree of certainty as to what 
his running expenses will be. He can also 
make a pretty close estimate of what the out- 
put of his factory or business will reach during 
the year. It often happens that the manu- 
facturer knows just what he is to receive for his 




Transverse section of a cotton gin 



COST OF COTTON PRODUCTION 1 37 

products before they are made. At all events 
there is not the degree of uncertainty about it 
that the farmer has to meet. 

We have mentioned some of the natural 
causes or climatic conditions which may cause 
wide variations in yields and profits, but 
the farmer himself must be taken into account 
as one of the greatest factors. One man can 
manage his cotton farm so as to make handsome 
profit, while another under the same natural 
surroundings, but with a less degree of business 
ability, agricultural knowledge, or industry, 
would produce the crop at a net loss. 

To get out of cotton farming under the new 
order of things more than a mere existence a 
man must use brains and incessant industry 
along with his physical labor. The days of 
profitable farming along the old trodden paths 
are numbered. By this we do not mean that 
there is no place for cotton on the small farm, 
for, if properly managed, there Is a possibility 
of greater profits than on the larger farms. 
The ordinary methods followed on both the 
one-horse and the larger farms must give way 
to more up-to-date management. Under a dif- 
ferent system two horses can be used profit- 



138 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

ably 'where one has been deemed sufficient 
before. The plan of crops can be changed so 
as to furnish labor for team and help for a 
longer period than where cotton alone is grown. 
At the same time the better teams and imple- 
ments will easily double' the yield which 
would give as much cotton as before, and allow 
half the land for other purposes. 

To break the land properly, to do the hauling 
and cultivation at least expense, two horses 
or mules are necessary on any farm. The 
all-cotton system of farming was never really 
successful under any conditions. Statistics 
from any section of the cotton territory, whether 
taken for the present or fifty years ago, will 
show that the only farmer who had money to 
lend and supplies to furnish the entire farm was 
the man who did not grow all cotton. The 
actual time devoted to making and gathering 
the crop on an all-cotton farm is not more than 
six months. This leaves hands and teams 
practically idle for the other six months. The 
expenses for subsistence for both labor and 
teams for this idle period must be about the 
same that it is for the other six months, but 
unless there is some profitable labor furnished 



COST OF COTTON PRODUCTION 1 39 

them during this time, this additional expense 
must necessarily be taken from the proceeds 
of the cotton crop. Such management as 
this accounts for the higher cost of cotton pro- 
duction. Under a better planned system just as 
much cotton can be grown and, besides, all the 
foodstuff necessary for the labor and the teams. 
Cotton farmers often claim that it is more 
economical to grow cotton exclusively and 
buy all the supplies for the farm. Practical 
experience and close observations and inquiry 
into the subject do not confirm the correctness 
of their claims. Even at the rather phenom- 
enally high price of cotton for the past few years, 
the man who actually grew it made little clear 
profit unless he also grew his supplies. The 
landlord who furnished the land at high rentals 
and supplied his tenants at enormous credit 
prices, no doubt gets big profit from the all- 
cotton method, especially in the good years. 
The small farmer and tenant has not nor will 
he ever be able to get much more than a poor 
living out of cotton farming, when he buys 
everything else used on the farm from the 
proceeds of the crop. It is difficult for a man 
who has been accustomed to figure expenses, 



140 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

incomes, and profits in an ordinary business 
to realize why the same methods of accounting 
cannot be applied to farm operations. The 
elements of risk and uncertainty met on the 
farm due to natural causes over which man has 
little control, but which so greatly effects 
expenses and yields, are lost sight of in making 
calculations. Here is where so many who know 
nothing of the practical side of farming are 
led Into trouble. Certain fixed expenses and the 
climatic changes are left out of the calculations. 
The following is given as an example which 
serves to illustrate the differences in good and 
poor farming. The first column represents 
results from good farming on fair land with 
good teams and tools, allowing a yield of 
1,500 pounds seed cotton per acre. The second 
column is the results from ordinary farming on 
average cotton lands with insufficient teams and 
tools. Yield per acre 600 pounds of seed cotton : 

Good Poor 

Chopping stalks $ 5° $50 

Breaking land 1. 00 1.50 

Harrowing .50 .£0 

Opening furrows and distributing fer- 
tilizer 50 1. 00 

Bedding and harrowing for planting . .75 1. 50 



COST OF COTTON PRODUCTION 



141 



Planting .... 

Chopping and hoeing 

Cultivation 

Fertilizer . 

Seed (for planting) 

Picking 

Ginning and baling 

Hauling to gin and to market 

Rent of land 



Less value of seed @ ^18 per ton . 



Good 

■25 

1 .00 

5.00 

4.00 

• 50 

9.00 

3.00 

S 1.50 
5.0c 



^32-50 
9.00 



Poor 

•75 
150 

4.50 
3-00 

•25 
3-6o 
1.20 

.60 
3.00 



$23 . 40 
3.60 



^23.50 $19.80 

Sale of lint @ 10 cents . . . $50.00 $20.00 

Net profit . 26.50 .20 

Cost per pound .047 .099 



These figures do not allow anything for wear 
and tear on teams and implements nor is there 
anything accounted for supervision. There are 
several other legitimate expenses which must 
be made which would add to the total cost. 
Unless the labor and teams are profitably 
employed during the period when they are not 
needed for the cotton crop the cost of subsist- 
ence must be added as an additional item. 
Some of the items might be reduced by excep- 
tional management. For instance, the fertil- 



142 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

izers can be reduced by a saving of farm manures 
and rotation of crops. The cost of food and 
farm supplies could possibly be reduced, if 
grown intelligently on the farm. A fair profit 
may be expected under average conditions 
where the crop is produced upon a cash basis 
and where a reasonable degree of knowledge 
is used in producing it. 



Equipment in Teams and Tools for Cotton 
Farms 



CHAPTER XI 

EQUIPMENT IN TEAMS AND TOOLS FOR COTTON 
FARMS 

LABOR-SAVING machinery plays an 
important part in the economy of pro- 
duction of any crop. As liberal an 
assortment of labor-saving tools is required in 
cotton farming as in any other type of farming. 
The principal difference in the equipment for a 
large or a small cotton farm, under the old one 
crop system, was mainly in the number of tools 
rather than in the kind. The cotton farmer 
has been slow in bringing to his aid labor- 
saving implements in the production of crops. 
This has been partly due to the fact that such 
a large per cent, of farm labor in the cotton 
belt was uneducated and unskilled in the use 
of machinery, and partly due to the fact that 
one man, under the one crop system of cotton 
farming, could, with one horse and with small 
one-horse plows or cultivators, produce as 

145 



146 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

much cotton as three or four laborers could 
harvest. 

On a 160-acre cotton farm, where one third 
of the area is devoted to corn and two thirds 
to cotton, the ordinary equipment in the past 
has consisted mainly of the one-horse, seven- 
inch moldboard plow; the small Georgia plow 
stock with sweep and shovel attachments; 
a one-horse cotton planter; the 14-tooth V- 
shaped harrow, and the hoe. The entire 
equipment for a 160-acre farm, under the old 
system, has been about as follows: 

8 mules @ ^150.00 ^ $1,200 

87-inch moldboard plows . . @ 7.00 = 56 
8 i-horse plow stocks, with sweep 

and shovel attachments . @ 4.00 =: 32 

8 V-shaped spiketooth harrows @ 4.00 = 32 

4 i-horse cotton planters . . @ 5.00 := 20 

24 hoes @, -SO = 12 

I farm wagon @ 60 

I set of double wagon harness 30 

8 sets single plow harness. . @ 5.00 = 40 

I set of repair tools .... 10 

Total $1,492 

The cotton farmer is beginning to diversify 
his crops and is rapidly discarding light mules 
and one-horse implements for heavier teams 





Ordinary equipment of implements on a one-horse cotton 

farm 

Ordinary equipment of implements on a two-horse cotton 
farm 




3 









EQUIPMENT IN TEAMS AND TOOLS I47 

and improved farm machinery. The two, 
three, and four horse breaking plows, the sulky 
cultivator, disk harrow, section harrow, the 
weeder and the mower are fast coming into 
use on the cotton farms. 

The mule has been the principal work animai 
on the cotton farm in the past. In recent 
years many progressive farmers have substi- 
tuted heavy draft mares in the place of mules 
and have found them just as satisfactory as 
the mule except for the very rough work. 
These mares will do any ordinary farm work 
and will raise a valuable colt each year. 

The necessary equipment in teams and tools 
for a 160-acre cotton farm, where one fourth of 
the area is devoted to pasture, one fourth to 
cotton, one fourth to corn and one fourth to 
small grain and hay, is as follows: 



2 mules 

4 mares 

I farm wagon . 

1 mower and rake 

2 combination planters 

3 12-inch moldboard plows 
I 24-inch disk breaking plow 

1 20-inch 8 disk, disk harrow 

2 riding sulky cultivators 



200 = 


$ 


400 


200 = 




800 
60 
60 


IS = 




30 


12 = 




36 
35 

25 


35 = 




70 



148 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

1 section harrow ^25 

4 springtooth cultivators . . . . @ 5 = 20 

2 one-horse, 5-shovel, cultivators . @ 12 = 24 

I set of repair tools 25 

Extra small tools 25 

I reaper and binder 150 

3 sets double harness . . . . @ 30 =::: 90 
I manure spreader 125 

Total $2,000 

Dr. S. A. Knapp, of the U. S. Department of 
Agriculture, estimated that there is a possible 
increase of 300 per cent, in the productive power 
of the farm laborer in the average Southern 
state by the use of more and better teams and 
farm machinery. 



Cotton By-products 



CHAPTER XII 

COTTON BY-PRODUCTS 

SCARCELY more than a quarter of a cen- 
tury ago cotton seed, the chief by-product 
of the cotton crop, was considered worth- 
less except for planting purposes. A common 
practice among the ginners and large planters 
was to dump the seed into waste places, into 
the streams or anywhere to get them out of the 
way. Contamination of the water supply in 
the streams and the odor given off by the 
decomposition of the seed became a nuisance, 
and in some places steps were taken by the 
health authorities to prescribe the manner 
of disposing of them. The planters as well as 
the country in general little realized the immense 
value of the seed as a fertilizer and stock feed. 
History of the Oil Mill. — The first manu- 
facture of cotton seed products on a commercial 
scale did not begin in the United States but 
in England where no cotton is grown. In 

151 



152 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

1870 that country had an annual crush of 
about 200,000 tons and was leading the world 
in the manufacture of cotton seed products. 
All of this supply had to be shipped across the 
ocean and there was much loss from the seed 
heating and decomposing in transit; so it was 
not long before it was found necessary to 
move the manufacturing industry nearer to 
the field of production. 

The increased uses made of the seed prod- 
ucts and the difficulty of getting the seed to 
the foreign mills in good shape led to the 
establishment of a great milling industry in the 
United States. The annual consumption by 
American oil mills is now more than 4,000,000 
tons. The first cotton seed oil mills were built 
in the United States in 1840. As late as i860 
there were only seven. In 1910 this number 
had been increased to 841. The number of 
laborers employed in oil mills increased from 
12,600 In 1899 to more than 22,000 in 1910. 
The total value of the seed delivered at the 
mills in 1910 was about ^142,710,000, an increase 
of more than $100,000,000 over 1899. In 1910 
the average cost per ton of seed was $27.40, 
more than 2§ times that of 1899. The total 



COTTON BY-PRODUCTS 1 53 

value of the products manufactured from the 
seed in 1910 amounted to $152,710,000 as 
compared with $46,100,000 in 1899. This 
large rise in value was brought about by the 
increased consumption of mill products, and 
is shared by every state which grows cotton. 
The value of the products manufactured from 
a ton of seed in 1899 was $17.75 ^^^ that 
of 1910 was $32.50. The total value of oil 
mill products in 1910 was as follows: oil, 
$80,430,000; meal and cake, $44,660,000; hull, 
$11,370,000; and linters, $6,250,000. 

There has been considerable fluctuation 
in the price of seed from the beginning. This 
is due largely to the fluctuations in the price 
of the articles with which the products come in 
competition. For instance, the price of oil is 
effected quickly by fluctuations in the prices 
of such articles as hog lard, soap, and olive 
oil; the price of meal, cake, and hulls is governed 
largely by the fluctuations in the price of 
fertilizer and foodstuff materials with which 
they come In competition. The price of 
linters, another by-product of the seed, is 
governed by the same conditions. 

Products of a Ton of Seed. — There are al- 



154 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

together over fifty useful products made from 
cotton seed. The following gives the average 
quantity of the chief products from a ton of 
seed, with a list of articles made from each: 

C Batting, stuffing, hats, 

X . J ) ropes, twines, carpets, 

1. Linters 30 pounds < ,, ,' ^ ! 

j cellulose, paper, ana 

(. explosives 

rT 11 o J Feed, fertilizer, paper, 

2. Hulls 840 pounds \ _ ' ^ >^ > 

and stumng 

3. Cake or meal 730 pounds Feed, fertilizer 

f Soap stock, lard, cotto- 

^., / J X o J ] lene, butter, salad oil, 

4. Oil (crude) 280 pounds < ,. ., . , ., , 

I olive oil, miners oil, lu- 

( bricating oil and paints 

Uses of Cotton Seed Oil. — There was for a 
long time considerable prejudice against the 
use of cotton seed oils in food products. This 
has now been largely overcome, and we find 
them used extensively in the manufacture of 
compound lard and cottolene; compound butter 
and cooking oils; in the manufacture of com- 
pound olive oil; and, in fact, nearly all compound 
oils now used In this country are composed 
largely of cotton seed oil. The cheaper grades 
are used largely in making soap, washing powder, 
glycerine, candles, and other necessaries which 



COTTON BY-PRODUCTS 155 

require a low grade of oil. Some of tlie oil 
is also used for medicinal purposes, illuminating, 
lubricating, packing fish, and to some extent 
for the manufacture of oils for paint. 

Uses of Meal and Cake. — The chief use 
of cake and meal are for fertilizers and stock 
feed. The following table shows the value of 
high-grade seed meal as a fertilizer: 

FERTILIZING VALUE OF A TON OF SEED 

128 lbs. nitrogen @ 20 cents $25.60 

54 lbs. phosphoric acid @ 5 cents . . . 2.70 
36 lbs. potash @ 5 cents i . 80 

Total value $30 10 

In 1910 South Carolina used 140,000 tons 
of cotton seed meal for fertilizer; Georgia 
91,000 tons. North Carolina 70,000 tons and 
Mississippi 56,000; and other states in smaller 
quantities. The feed value of cotton seed meal 
and cake for fattening stock and furnishing a 
concentrated ration to dairy cows is more 
than for fertilizer. 

The United States Secretary of Agriculture, 
Hon. James Wilson, was asked a few years ago 
If he thought that the Southern farm lands 
could be made to produce as much as the rich, 



156 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COttOM 

high-priced lands of the Central West. He 
said: "Why, of course. What is the hindrance? 
But the Southern farmer must quit sending his 
cotton seed meal over the world to enrich other 
lands. He must use the rich fertilizer himself." 
It is deplorable that the Southern farmer has 
allowed the larger part of this valuable fertil- 
izing and feed product to be shipped from its 
native territory to other sections of the United 
States and to Europe. The full feed value may 
be derived from cotton seed products and at 
the same time, if the manures from the stock 
are returned to the soil, from 70 to 90 per cent, 
of the fertilizing value may be retained on the 
farm. The combined feed and fertilizing value 
of a ton of high-grade cotton seed meal when 
fed to animals and the manure carefully saved 
and returned to the land is about ^50; when 
used alone as feed or a fertilizer Its value Is 
about ^30. The farmer sustains a tremendous 
loss when he fails to get both the feed and fer- 
tilizing value from cotton seed meal. When 
the Southern farmer appreciates the Import- 
ance of feeding the meal and returning the 
manure to the land, the South will become one of 
the greatest stock-raising countries In the world. 



COTTON BY-PRODUCTS 157 

Southern farmers should keep enough stock 
to consume all the cotton seed meal on the 
farm, but it will be years before they can 
accumulate enough stock to do this. At 
present some meal Is fed to dairy cows and 
animals in the nearby towns, but compara- 
tively little of it goes back to the farm except 
what is used directly in the form of fertilizer. 
Cotton seed meal is one of the most satis- 
factory forms of nitrogen that can be used 
in making mixed fertilizers for the common farm 
crops. It is not only rich in nitrogen but 
contains considerable quantities of phosphoric 
acid and potash. The fertilizing elements 
in cotton seed meal are slowly available, a 
quality which makes It desirable for such crops 
as have a long growing period. Unless the 
cotton farmer has enough stock to consume his 
meal, It will pay better to use it as a fertilizer 
than to send it away to enrich other sections. 

Hulls. — Hulls are used for feed, paper, 
fertilizers and packing, but of recent years 
almost the entire supply has been utilized 
as a stock feed at prices ranging from $3 to 
^10 per ton. In addition to the outside cover- 
ing of the cotton seed, the hulls contain small 



158 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

portions of kernels or hearts which add to 
their feeding value. Their feeding value is 
about that of cheap grass hay or half that of 
good grass hay. 

Linters. — The linters or the short fiber 
that is taken from the seed in the first process 
of manufacture is used in making low grades 
of rope, twine, wrappings, and various other 
articles requiring a cheap grade of cotton. 

Other than a few minor improvements there 
has been no changes in oil mill machinery 
for the past twenty-five years. The linters 
are removed more closely, and several gallons 
more oil per ton are obtained than formerly. 



Soil Improvement on Cotton Farms 



CHAPTER XIII 

SOIL IMPROVEMENT ON COTTON FARMS 

CAUSES of Depleted Soils on Cotton 
Farms. — Good farm lands are now, and 
have always been, the greatest asset of 
any state or nation. The rapidly increasing 
population and the higher standard of civiliza- 
tion now spreading over all countries will make 
this problem of good lands a more important 
one in the future. 

Any system of farming that reduces the 
fertility of the soil or decreases its crop-pro- 
ducing capacity is not only unnecessary but 
results In ultimate failure. Extensive investi- 
gation and experiments under varied condi- 
tions have fully demonstrated that lands 
farmed properly can be improved and their 
producing capacity greatly increased. There 
Is no valid excuse for wornout farm lands, 
and where they are found It Is the fault of 
the man or his system and not of the land. 

i6i 



l62 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

The problem of soil fertility and how to 
maintain it has been a very vital one to all 
nations. The earliest agricultural literature 
mentions the use of manures and other refuse 
to make the soil more productive. In all 
the old countries the question of keeping up 
the soil fertility has been successfully met. 
This is evidenced by their being able to feed 
from the same lands the constantly increasing 
population. There are lands in some of the 
European countries that are producing, after 
more than one thousand years of cultivation, 
larger crops than ever before. The density of 
the population and the lack of room for expan- 
sion make it necessary to conserve all the re- 
sources, and especially that of the soil. 

In America there has been a very different 
situation. With a sparse rural population and 
a seemingly unlimited expanse of fertile virgin 
soil, the question of caring for or conserving 
the soil was lost sight of for a long time. It 
was not until recently that the constantly 
decreasing yield per acre of our soils was 
seriously considered. While the abuse of farm 
lands, idle fields, and tenantless homes are 
noticeable all over the country, these are 



SOIL IMPROVEMENT 163 

even more marked in the cotton states. In 
no country or in any age has there been such a 
system of soil robbing as that practised on the 
Southern farm. The washed and barren hill- 
sides are the first things to attract the atten- 
tion of all travellers both foreign and native. 
Natural causes are, of course, partly responsible 
for these conditions. The mild, open winters, 
accompanied by frequent heavy rainfalls, with 
the naturally sandy loose soil, make washing 
easy. The principal causes are, however, 
shallow breaking and the system of clean cul- 
ture practised in cotton farming. With little 
humus in the soil to absorb the water and hold 
the particles together, erosion is the natural 
result. Farther north, where the soil is stiffer 
and the rainfall lighter, and with a more 
diversified system of cropping, soils do not 
wash so badly. Here also the surface soils 
are frozen for several months which makes 
washing impossible for a large part of the year. 
In the early days of commercial cotton grow- 
ing, when fertile lands were abundant and 
cheap and with slave labor to produce the 
crop it was considered more profitable to 
clear new fields when the old ones became 



164 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

exhausted than to preserve the fertility of 
the soil. The logical result of such a system was 
the wearing out of the most desirable lands. 

Any system of cropping which does not 
return to the land the larger part of all that is 
grown on it, either in the shape of manure from 
live stock or by turning under the green crops, 
will soon result in unproductive soils. In 
some places, cotton has been grown on the 
same land for generations. This soil was 
evidently very fertile in the beginning or it 
would be so exhausted by now that it would not 
produce profitable crops. . 

Dr. B. T. Galloway, Chief of the Bureau 
of Plant Industry, once said, after visiting 
the Cotton States, that "When the Southern 
farmer learned to diversify and feed his soil 
by returning to it what it produced, a system 
of land robbing would give way to a system of 
land building." 

If only the lint were sold from the cotton farm, 
less fertility would be removed by it than any 
other crop known. By returning the seeds or 
their equivalent in manure or fertilizer, with 
all the other parts of the plant, there should be 
little soil deterioration from cotton farming. 



SOIL IMPROVEMENT 165 

Five hundred pounds of lint cotton removes 
less than two pounds of nitrogen, about one 
half pound of phosphoric acid, and two and 
one half pounds of potash. The seed from a 
bale of cotton, approximately half a ton, con- 
tains thirty-one pounds of nitrogen, thirteen 
pounds of phosphoric acid, and twelve pounds 
of potash. At prevailing prices the seed from 
each bale of cotton grown removes more than 
$'j worth of plant food from the soil. When the 
farmer sells his seed without returning their 
equivalent in some other form of fertilizer 
he robs his land. It has been claimed by many 
of the best farmers, and with good reason, that 
the rapid deterioration of soils in the cotton 
States began with the construction of the oil 
mill. Before the day of the oil mill cotton 
seed were either fed to stock or used as fertil- 
izer. Since the introduction of the oil mill 
nearly all the seed are sold. The prices re- 
ceived are frequently below the actual fertil- 
izing value, and the money received is seldom 
spent for plant food to be returned to the soil. 

Before the oil mills came, the cotton seed were 
used as fertilizer for corn and it was a rare 
thing to know of a good farmer who bought 



1 66 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

corn to run his farm. The high prices paid 
for seed in recent years have, to a large extent, 
robbed the farms of this Important fertilizer, 
and much of the money received for the cotton 
crop has gone to buy corn and other foodstuff. 

Analyses show that a ton of meal contains 
about as much plant food as two tons of raw 
seed; but the feeding value of a ton of cotton 
seed is equal to 1,400 pounds of meal. These 
facts should be considered when selling seed 
or exchanging them for meal. 

Methods of Restoring Soil Fertility. — Under 
the system of all cotton farming the lands have 
greatly deteriorated. The following methods 
are suggested for restoring and maintaining soil 
fertility on cotton farms: 

1. Terrace hill lands to prevent washing, and 

drain swamp lands. 

2. Grow leguminous crops and winter cover 

crops to fill the soil with humus and 
check erosion. 

3. Adopt a systematic rotation of crops. 

4. Keep live stock to consume all grain and 

forage crops and return the manure to 
the land. 



SOIL IMPROVEMENT 167 

Drainage. — The first problem in soil build- 
ing on cotton farms is to check erosion on the 
hill land and drain the swamp land. On 
hill lands broad bed terraces are recommended. 
On bottom and wet lands, tile drainage, or 
some other effective method of ridding the 
soil of surplus water should be adopted. Be- 
fore any ditching, terracing or tiling is done, 
all gullies and rough places should be filled 
up and the land put in fair condition. This 
will make the work much easier and more 
effective. 

Before permanent terraces are built, grow 
one or two heavy crops of peas, or some other 
green crop which can be plowed un- 
der to add humus to the soil. This will 
help to take care of part of the surplus 
water. 

Broad embankment terraces of a width of 
fifteen feet, with a gradual fall of from four to 
six inches per one hundred feet, will 
carry the surplus water away gradually, 
allowing much of it to be taken up by 
the soil. These wide terraces will permit 
the growing of crops on all the land. 
When cultivated crops are planted, lay 



1 68 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

off the rows parallel with the terrace, run- 
ning the first rows on top of the terrace and 
allowing short rows to come in the centre 
or on one side. The terrace bank should 
be made high enough in the beginning to 
avoid any possibility of overflowing or breaking 
while it is new and unsettled. The distance 
between the terraces can be determined by the 
lay of the land. Shorter distances will be 
necessary on steep lands and much wider space 
can be left on moderately rolling lands. The 
general rule is to allow a three-foot perpen- 
dicular fall between terraces. Before start- 
ing terraces see that there is a good outlet for 
the water. 

The laying out of terraces is a very simple 
matter, and can be done by almost any farmer 
with a little preliminary instruction. The 
implements used need not be expensive. A 
farm level can be bought for $12 or $15, or 
one that will answer the purpose can be 
made for $2 by buying a carpenter's level and 
attaching it to a frame made of light wood. 
More physical labor will be required to operate 
the home-made level, but good work can be 
done with it. 



SOIL IMPROVEMENT 169 

On bottom lands and some rolling hill lands, 
tile drainage is the best method for taking care 
of the water. This eliminates all ditch banks 
and other obstructions. 

Green Manure Crops. — The next impor- 
tant step in soil building is to get more 
humus or vegetable matter incorporated in 
the soil. Undoubtedly the quickest and most 
effective way of doing this is by means of 
growing leguminous crops. If quick re- 
sults are desired, the whole of the crop 
should be turned under. This, perhaps, 
would be advisable for the first year, under 
any circumstances. The best crops for this 
purpose are cowpeas, soy beans, velvet 
beans, and, on land where they will grow, 
some of the clovers. The cowpeas will grow 
on almost any land in the Cotton Belt. The 
velvet bean can be grown anywhere in the 
Gulf States. The soy bean will be more 
beneficial perhaps in some places on ac- 
count of the diseases that affect the pea. 
Lespedeza, bur clover, and crimson clover 
can be grown on nearly all soils in the 
South. An application of lime will be 
helpful to the clovers on nearly all soils. 



170 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

By growing legume crops in the summer, 
turning them under in the fall, and follow- 
ing with a crop of oats, rye, crimson or 
bur clover as a winter cover crop, the 
land will be fully protected throughout 
the year, and if all these crops are turned 
under the original fertility will be rapidly 
restored. After one or two years of this 
treatment the land may be turned over to 
the regular crops of cotton and corn. Of 
course, this is not specially applicable to 
soils that are already in fairly good condi- 
tion. 

Crop Rotations. — Rotation of crops is the 
safest and surest way of maintaining soil 
fertility. On every farm a systematic crop 
rotation should be adopted. This rotation 
will have to be planned to suit the condi- 
tions and the location of the farm. What 
would be good for one farm might not 
be th^ best for another, even in the same 
neighborhood. A few suggestive rotations 
are given, so that the farmer may have an 
idea of what is meant by systematic crop 
rotation. 

Following are suggested outlines of two, 



SOIL IMPROVEMENT 



171 



three, and four year rotations for cotton farms. 
The legume crops to be used with these rota- 
tions will vary in different sections and on 
different soils: 

TWO-YEAR ROTATION 



FIELD NO. I 


FIELD NO. 2 


(ij-^ year) 


{ist year) 


Corn and cowpeas. Bur 


Cotton. Bur clover as win- 


clover as winter cover 


ter cover crop 


crop 




{2d year) 


{2d year) 


Cotton. Bur clover as 


Corn and cowpeas. Bur 


winter cover crop 


clover as winter cover crop 



Bur clover can be seeded on the cotton land 
from August 15th to October 15th, depending 
on the latitude. Seed should be sown in 
the bur. The clover will mature seed in the 
spring in time to prepare the land for corn. 
It will not be necessary to reseed this land 
the following fall. The land for cotton will 
have to be broken in the spring before the bur 
clover seeds, but there will usually be enough 
seed remaining in the soil from the past 
year to get a good stand of clover after the 
cotton. 



172 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

Crimson clover Is the best of all cover crops 
where the soil has been inoculated. If crimson 
has not been grown on the farm before, only a 
small area should be planted at first, and It 
should be Inoculated by securing soil from a 
THREE-YEAR ROTATION 



FIELD NO. I 


FIELD NO. 2 


FIELD NO. 3 


{isi year) 


{isi year) 


(ist year) 


Cotton. Rye or crim- 


C&rn and peas 


Oats and peas 


son clover as winter 






cover crop 






(2(f year) 


(zd year) 


{2d year) 


Corn and peas 


Oats and peas 


Cotton. Rye or crim- 
son clover as winter 
1 cover crop 


iid year) 


(id year) 


{3d year) 


Oats and peas 


Cotton. Rye or 
crimson clover as 
winter cover crop 


Corn and peas 



crimson clover field and scattering It over the 
land, at the rate of from 300 to 500 pounds per 
acre at the time of seeding. If soil cannot 
be secured from a crimson clover field, fairly 
satisfactory Inoculation may be obtained from 
the nitro-culture bacteria which are prepared 
by the U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, and also by 
some of the leading seed houses. Unless the 
soil has been Inoculated, It will be best to plant 
the cotton lands to rye for a winter cover crop. 



SOIL IMPROVEMENT 



173 



Lespedeza will make an excellent hay crop 
on good land in nearly all parts of the South. 

FOUR-YEAR ROTATION 



FIELD NO. I 


FIELD NO. 2 


FIELD NO. 3 


FIELD NO. 4 


{ist year) 


(i.f/ year) 


iist year) 


(ist year) 


Cotton. Rye or 


Corn and peas 


Oats and les- 


Lespedeza 


crimson clover 




pedeza 




as winter cover 








crop 








(2d year) 


[zd year) 


(zd year) 


(zd year) 


Corn and peas 


Oats and les- 


Lespedeza 


Cotton. Rye or 




pedeza 




crimson clo- 
ver as winter 
cover crop 


(id year) 


(}d year) 


(}d year) 


(id year) 


Oats and lespe- 


Lespedeza 


Cotton. Rye or 


Corn and peas 


deza 




crimson clo- 
ver as winter 
cover crop 




{4th year) 


Utii year) 


(4ik year) 


(ith year) 


Lespedeza 


Cotton. Rye or 


Corn and peas 


Oats and les- 




crimson clo- 




pedeza 




ver as cover 








crop 







Lespedeza does not make sufficient growth on 
poor land to justify planting it as a hay crop. 
It should be sown the last of February or the 
first of March on the oat land. Run over the 
land after sowing seed with a dragtooth har- 
row, the teeth slanted backward at an angle 
of 45 degrees. One cutting of hay can be se- 



174 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

cured and the lespedeza will reseed itself, and 
one cutting can be secured the following year. 
Lespedeza is a most excellent plant for im- 
proving the soil. In sections where it cannot 
be grown other crops can be substituted in 
the rotation. 

The above outlines of crop rotations are 
offered only as suggestions. Each farmer can, 
with a little study, plan a system best suited 
to his conditions. 

Farvi Manures. — The last but by no means 
the least important factor to be considered 
in building up the land and maintaining fertil- 
ity is that of farm manures. The practical 
and experimental results in the best farming 
countries have proven that soil fertility can- 
not be most economically maintained without 
the use of live stock. The keeping of sufficient 
live stock will allow the farmer to get two 
values for the heavier rough food products 
grown. He may first get the full feed value 
through the animal, and second the manure 
which can be returned to the land. The neglect 
in preserving and increasing the supply of 
farm manures has been a great drain on the 
American farm, especially in cotton-growing 



SOIL IMPROVEMENT 175 

sections. The chief difference between barn- 
yard manure and other vegetable matter is 
that in the process of passing through the an- 
imal the fertilizing elements are made more 
available for absorption In plant growth. 

From 75 to 90 per cent, of the fertilizing value 
of the crop is left after it passes through the 
animal. Through neglect in caring for manures 
about the farm much of their fertility is lost. 
The Cornell University Experiment Station 
found that as much as 50 per cent, of the 
plant food constituents in manure was lost 
by leaching and unnecessary fermentation. 
The best plan for utilizing manures, where it 
can be done, is to haul and spread on the land 
regularly as it accumulates. Where there is 
no land available, and it is not practicable 
to do this at all seasons, some suitable shed or 
house should be provided that will thoroughly 
protect it from rain or exposure. One of the 
best plans for accumulating manures in stables 
or barns is to let it remain and be trampled by 
the stock. Always supply plenty of bedding 
to absorb all the liquids. This treatment will 
not only take up the moisture but the continued 
trampling of the animal will exclude all air, 



176 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

SO that the accumulation may go on without 
injury to its quality until a convenient time to 
remove and spread it on the land. 

One can readily see that a large quantity 
of valuable fertilizer could be accumulated 
during the year with a limited number of 
animals when taken into consideration that 
each grown horse produces about 12,000 pounds 
and each cow about 20,000 pounds per year. 
When the straw and other litter is added to this 
the amount is largely increased. The actual 
plant food contained in one ton of barnyard 
manure is worth at least $2.50, and it is safe to 
say that the farmer will derive nearly $4 worth 
of good from it. It not only furnishes $2.50 
worth of plant food but greatly improves the 
mechanical condition of the soil and multiplies 
beneficial bacteria. 

Some farmers prefer composting their ma- 
nures, but this, except in rare instances, is an 
additional expense without adding very much 
to the actual value of the manure. For special 
farming the compost heap has been found bene- 
ficial and may be made somewhat as follows: 

Locate the compost heap in an old shed; or 
build a shed, with any kind of cheap material 




1. Crimson clover in central Alabama, sown October first, 
in cotton middles after first picking of cotton. Clover 
in full bloom April fifteenth 

2. Corn and velvet beans. The velvet bean is a great 
forage and soil improving crop on the cotton farms of the 
Gulf Coast country 



•^^^ 




SOIL IMPROVEMENT 177 

for a roof. Spread on the ground a layer 
of stable manure 8 by lo feet, six inches deep. 
Over this spread one hundred pounds of acid 
phosphate or ground phosphate rock. The 
ground phosphate rock answers about as well 
as the acid phosphate and costs about half as 
much. Continue these layers until all the 
manure is used up or until the pile has become 
conveniently high. To these layers might be 
added straw, leaves, mold, or other litter, add- 
ing one hundred pounds of ground phosphate 
rock to each ton of material used. Be sure to 
wet all thoroughly. When the heap is com- 
pleted cover it about four inches deep with 
good loam, or with forest mold, to prevent 
evaporation of the ammonia and other ele- 
ments. This should remain in the heap for 
several weeks, thoroughly mixing when cutting 
down, and before hauling to the field for ap- 
plication. 

The judicious use of commercial fertilizers 
in combination with barnyard manure and 
green crops will aid in soil building, and will 
be found profitable in the increased production 
of crops. 

With the best methods of conserving the 



178 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

soil, and the best methods of tillage, the yield 
of all crops on the average cotton farm could 
be more than doubled. The average small 
yield of the cotton farm compared with what 
it might be is a heavy tax to pay for ignorance 
and careless management. How long shall 
we continue such methods? This is a question 
that must be answered, not only for our own 
good, but for posterity. 



Outlook for the Cotton Industry 



CHAPTER XIV 

OUTLOOK FOR THE COTTON INDUSTRY 

SOME apprehension has been expressed con- 
cerning the future of the cotton industry 
in the United States. The high prices of 
recent years and the demoralizing and de- 
structive effects on the crop in some sections 
by the boll weevil, have created uneasiness 
in the minds of the spinners. It is only natural 
that the spinner should desire a sufficient supply 
of cotton at moderate prices. Several European 
countries have spent large sums of money in 
efforts to grow cotton In their colonial pos- 
sessions that they might become independent 
of the American crop. They employed high 
salaried experts and expended millions of 
dollars; but so far have been unable to produce 
cotton of the desired standard and in competi- 
tion with the American crop. 

The Southern States have had a monopoly 
of cotton production, and it is probable that 

i8i 



I 82 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

they will continue to enjoy this distinction. 
The Mexican cotton boll weevil threatened 
the industry but, after two decades of experi- 
ence with this most destructive of all cotton 
pests, it has been demonstrated that cotton 
can still be grown profitably in the presence 
of the weevil. In fact, the crop has con- 
stantly increased during the past five years with 
more than half the cotton-producing territory 
infested. While there is little doubt that this 
troublesome pest will invade every field where 
cotton is grown, it is believed that it will 
become less destructive in the northern part 
of the Cotton Belt. It is also probable that 
natural enemies of the weevil and better cul- 
tural methods will reduce the damage in 
sections already infested. It is doubtful, how- 
ever, whether any territory once infested will 
ever be entirely rid of the weevil, though the 
danger of serious damage may be reduced 
except in years of unfavorable climatic con- 
ditions. 

There is little reason to believe that the 
United States will lose its supremacy in the 
production of cotton with their rich lands, not 
only adapted to cotton but to the greatest 



OUTLOOK FOR THE COTTON INDUSTRY 1 83 

variety of useful farm crops; their magnificent 
forests of timber for building purposes; the 
great deposits of oil, coal, iron, phosphates, 
lime, and other minerals; with almost unlimited 
water power; and with a mild and healthful 
climate; but instead, every reason to believe 
there will be expansion and growth. 

Mr. Edward Atkinson, a large American 
spinner, after trying cotton imported from 
various foreign countries, stated that none 
of them were satisfactory and that no other 
country has a climate so peculiarly adapted 
to the growing of cotton as ours. He finally 
concluded that the South would perhaps 
have the monopoly for a long time. In his 
opinion only one section, which is situated in 
South America, could ever compete with the 
United States in growing the best grades of 
upland cotton. 

The English Government recently appointed 
a commission to investigate the possibilities 
of cotton production in Africa, and they 
reported in part as follows: 

"All efforts to raise cotton successfully 
elsewhere than in the southern part of the 



184 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

United States have failed. This is the home 
of the cotton plant, and if it will grow and fruit 
elsewhere to the extent that the staple will 
have a substantial commercial value, the 
fact is yet to be demonstrated. It was ex- 
perimented with under different suns during 
and after the American Civil War and all the 
experiments failed. Providence has given the 
Southern farmer the monopoly of the indis- 
pensable cotton crop and he need not take 
fright when the price soars and there are heard 
threats of turning Africa, Egypt, and other 
countries into cotton fields, and making them 
furnish the world's supply." 

The rapidity with which the industry has 
grown in this country can be realized when we 
note that the total crop of the South thirty 
years ago was only four million bales; twenty 
years ago it was six million bales; ten years 
ago it was eight million bales, and the past 
three crops have averaged nearly fourteen 
million bales. Notwithstanding these three 
extraordinary crops, the average price per 
pound paid for them has been greater than at 
any time in thirty years. A world-wide move- 



OUTLOOK FOR THE COTTON INDUSTRY 1 85 

ment toward a higher civilization and higher 
standards of living has largely increased the 
demand for cotton. It has been estimated that 
of the more than fifteen hundred million people 
on the earth, only one third are well clothed, 
one half are partly clothed, and the remainder 
go without clothing. Something like forty-two 
million bales would be necessary to clothe all 
of the people of the world as we are clothed. 
This fact indicates the immense room for 
expansion in cotton production. It is believed 
that the South can increase the cotton crop 
as rapidly as the world's demand grows. When 
we consider that in the cotton states but one 
acre in seventeen is devoted to cotton, and 
only one acre in eleven in the cotton counties, 
there seems to be good reason for this belief. 
The average yield per acre is now less than two 
hundred pounds of lint cotton; but some of 
the best farmers average from their entire farms 
from five hundred to eight hundred pounds per 
acre. This would indicate the possibility of 
immensely Increasing the crop, even were 
there no increase in acreage. 

The low yields in the South may be largely 
ascribed to the use of poor seed, run down, 



1 86 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

depleted soils, and inefficient and inadequate 
teams and tools. The use of good seed alone 
has been known to increase the crop from 30 
to 50 per cent., and it is conservative to assume 
that with the adoption of the latest methods 
in scientific farming the yields on the lands 
already devoted to cotton would be doubled. 

The acute problem confronting the Southern 
farmer to-day is the necessity of caring for 
his lands. This can be done by keeping 
live stock and rotating crops, and at the same 
time producing as much cotton as formerly 
on only half the acreage. Under such a sys- 
tem all of the supplies will be grown at home, 
and the cotton will be a surplus cash crop. 
The outlook is very hopeful to the close observer. 

Mr. Arthur W. Page, editor of the World's 
Work, in an article analyzing present condi- 
tions in the Southern States, said: "We are 
in sight of the time when the cotton grower 
in the old slave states will become the most 
prosperous tiller on the earth." 

The late Alfred B. Shepperson, author of 
"Cotton Facts," in an address entitled, "The 
Sources of Cotton Supply," before the New 
York University a few years ago, went into 



OUTLOOK FOR THE COTTON INDUSTRY 1 8/ 

details as to the future outlook and used the 
following in his closing paragraphs: 

"I am as thoroughly convinced of the utter 
futility of the attempts being made to grow 
cotton in the new fields of production as I am 
of the capacity of our Southern States to 
readily meet the increasing requirements of 
the spinners of Europe and America. Our 
European friends would do well to possess 
their souls in patience, and stop squandering 
their money in visionary schemes. Blessed 
with temperature, rainfall, better adapted to 
the successful culture of cotton than any other 
country, and with an abundance of land to 
meet every possible requirement for expansion 
of acreage, the United States will undoubtedly 
maintain in the future its present supremacy 
in the cotton production of the world." 



The Supply and Distribution of Cotton 



CHAPTER XV 



THE SUPPLY AND DISTRIBUTION OF COTTON 



THE total supply of cotton in the United 
States at the end of 191 1 was 17,896,226 
bales. This represents cotton held over 
froma previous crop, and 229,268 bales Imported 
from various other countries. This is the largest 
supply this country has ever accumulated. 

The following table shows the production 
and distribution of the cotton crop of the 
United States from 1855 to 1911: 

Table VII. — Total crop, export, and domestic con- 
sumption OF United States cotton crop for special 

YEARS 



■STEAR 


TCTEAL COMMERCIAL 
CROP 


TOTAL EXPORT 


TAKING 
NORTHERN 


TAKING 
SOUTHERN 






MILLS 


MILLS 


I8SS 


3>66s,ss7 


2,702,863 


633,000 


138,000 


i860...... 


3,849,469 


615,032 


650,000 


193,000 


i86s....... 


2,269,216 


1,301,146 


541,000 


127,000 


1870. ...... 


4,024,527 


2,922,257 


1,072,000 


91,000 


187s....... 


4,302,818 


3,037,650 


1,220,000 


134,000 


1880. ...... 


6,356,998 


4,451,495 


1,713,000 


225,000 


i88s 


6,369,341 


4,200,651 


1,781,000 


381,000 


1890 


8,562,089 


5,580,319 


2,027,000 


613,000 



192 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 



YEAR 


TOTAL COMMERCIAL 
CROP 


TOTAL EXPORT 


TAKING 

NORTHERN 

MILLS 


TAKING 

SOUTHERN 

MILLS 


189s 


7,146,779 


4.761,505 


1,605,000 


900,000 


1900 


10,266,527 


6,806,572 


1,904,000 


1,583,000 


I9OS 


10,804,556 


6.975,494 


2,33S,ooo 


2,292,000 


1906 


13.595,498 


8,825,236 


2,510,000 


2,495,000 


1907 


11,375,461 


7.779.508 


1,885,000 


2,079,000 


1908 


13,587,306 


8,889,724 


2,688,000 


2,555,000 


1909 


10,315,382 


6,491,843 


2,012,000 


2,244,000 


I9IO 


12,005,688 


8,008,195 


1,994,000 


2,307,000 


I9II 


16,250,276 


10,681,332 


2,619,000 


2,772,000 



Table VIII. — Cotton acreage harvested, production 

AND yield lint PER ACRE AND PRICE IN THE UnITED 

States, for selected years, i 879-191 i 



1911 
1910 
1909 
1908 
1907 
1906 
1905 
1904 
1903 
1902 
1901 
1900 
1899 
1898 
1897 
1896 
189s 
1894 

1893 
1889 
1884 
1879 



TOTAL ACREAGE 



36. 
32. 
32. 

32, 
3I: 
31 
26, 
30 
28: 
27, 

27; 
25. 
24: 
24: 

24: 

23, 

20, 
123, 

9: 
20, 

17: 
14, 



,045,000 
,403,000 
,044,000 
,444,000 
,311,000 
,374,000 
.117,153 
.053,739 
,016,893 
,114,103 
,220,414 

758,139 
.275,101 

.967.295 
.319,584 
,273,209 
184,808 
687,950 
525,000 
175,270 
439,612 
480,019 



TOTAL CROP 
BALES 



16,109,349 

11,965,962 

10,386,209 

13,432,131 

11,325,882 

13,305,265 

10,725,602 

13.697,310 

10,015,721 

10,784,473 

9,748,546 

10,245,602 

9,507,786 

11,189,205 

10,897,857 

8,532,70s 

7,161,094 

9,901,251 

7,493,000 

7,472,511 
5,682,000 

5,755,359 



YIELD LINT 
PER ACRE 



175 

>^ 
195 
175 
205 
205 
215 
175 
195 
195 
20s 
220 
240 
235 
195 
175 
205 
190 
18s 
163 
195 



PRICE 

CENTS PER 

POUND 



• 9 

• S 
8.4 

lo.s 
12.0 



SUPPLY AND DISTRIBUTION 



193 



World's Production of Cotton ( U. S. Census) . — 
Cotton can be grown over a wide area of the 
earth's surface, but its profitable production 
is limited to certain well-defined sections. For 
some countries satisfactory data regarding 
the production of cotton are not available. 
The following table, showing production by 
countries, from 1907 to 1911 inclusive, is 
believed to approximate the facts. 

Table IX. — Production of cotton for mill consump- 
tion, BY countries, 1907 TO IQII 





COTTON PRODUCTION (BALES OF 5OO POUNDS NET) 




I9II 


I9IO 


1909 


1908 


1907 


Total 


22,297,000 


18,711,000 


16,777,000 


19,636,000 


16,512,000 


U. S 

British 

India. . . 
Egypt .... 
Russia. . . . 

China 

Brazil 

Peru 

Turkey . . . 
Mexico. . . 
Persia .... 
All other 
countries 


15,546,000 

2,514,000 

1,450,000 

1,200,000 

625,000 

320,000 

128,000 

124,000 

100,000 

80,000 

210,000 


11,483,000 

3,082,000 

1,506,000 

900,000 

775,000 

3 10,000 
128,000 
105,000 
135,000 
92,000 

195,000 


9,863,000 

3,774,000 
911,000 
720,000 
600,000 
360,000 
107,000 

32,000 
125,000 

90,000 

195,000 


13,002,000 

2,953,000 

1,275,000 

846,000 

600,000 

425,000 

80,000 

80,000 

140,000 

50,000 

185,000 


10,882,000 

2,498,000 

1,296,000 

620,000 

426,000 

370,000 

55. 000 

80,000 

70,000 

50,000 

165,000 



The average production for mill consumption 
during the five years shown in the table was 
18,787,000 bales, or 3,510,000 bales less than 



194 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

the production of 191 1. In addition to the 
amounts shown in the table, large quantities 
of the fiber are produced in some countries 
and consumed in the homes of the people, 
without entering commercial channels; but 
the amount of such cotton cannot be estimated 
with any degree of accuracy. 



fropoftion oJtotoX eongumptum, by covntria {}/tcT.nding Auguu 3t, 




Diagram I 



Diagram II 



The relative importance of the several cotton-producing 
countries is graphically presented in Diagram I. Of the 
total production of commercial cotton in 191 1, the United 
States contributed 69.7 per cent.; British India, 11. 3 per 
cent.; Egypt, 6.5 per cent.; and Russia, 5.4 per cent. 

The relative importance of the several countries in the 
consumption of cotton is shown in Diagram II. 



Supplement 



\ 



SUPPLEMENT 

There are many agencies now organized for 
the purpose of giving practical and scientific 
information to the farmer in helping him solve 
his problems. Among these are the State 
Agricultural Colleges and Experiment Stations, 
the Industrial and Agricultural Agents em- 
ployed by the railroads, the U. S. Depart- 
ment of Agriculture through its Demonstration 
Agents and other employees, and the Editors 
of Agricultural Papers. 

DIRECTORS OF UNITED STATES AGRICULT- 
URAL EXPERIMENT STATIONS IN 
THE COTTON BELT 

ALABAMA 

J. F. Guggar, Director, College Station, Auburn. 
L. H. Moore, Director, Canebrake Station, Uniontown. 
G. W. Carver, Director, Tuskeegee Station, Tuskeegee 
Inst. 

ARKANSAS 

C. F. Adams, Director, State Station, Fayetteville. 

CALIFORNIA 

T. F. Hunt, Director, State Station, Berkeley. 

197 



198 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

FLORIDA 

P. H. Rolfs, Director, Gainesville. 

GEORGIA 

R. J. H. DeLoach, Director, Experiment. 

HAWAII 

E. V. Wilcox (Special Agent in Charge), Federal Station, 

Honolulu. 
C. F. Eckart, Director, Sugar Planters' Station, Honolulu. 

ILLINOIS 

E. Davenport, Director, Urbana. 

ISLAND OF GUAM 

John B. Thompson(Special Agent in)pharge), Guam. 

KANSAS 

W. M. Jardine, Director (Acting), Manhattan. 

KENTUCKY 

J. H. Kastle, Director, Lexington. 

LOUISIANA 

W. R. Dodson, Director, State Station, Baton Rouge. 
W. R. Dodson, Director, Sugar Station, New Orleans. 
W. R. Dodson, Director, N. Louisiana Station, Calhoun. 
W. R. Dodson, Director, Rice Exp. Station, Crowley. 

MISSISSIPPI 

E. R. Lloyd, Director, Agricultural College. 

MISSOURI 

F. B. Mumford, Director, College Station, Columbia. 
P. Evans, Director, Fruit Station, Mountain Grove. 

NEW MEXICO 

Fabian Garcia, Director, State College. 



SUPPLEMENT I99 

NORTH CAROLINA 

B. W. Kilgore, Director, College Station, W. Raleigh. 
B. W. Kilgore, Director, State Station, Raleigh. 

OKLAHOMA 

J. A. Wilson, Director, Stillwater. 

PORTO RICO 

D. W. May, (Special Agent in Charge), Federal Station, 

Mayaguez. 
J. T. Crawley, Director, Sugar Producers' Station, Rio 

Piedras. 

SOUTH CAROLINA 

J. N. Harper, Director, State Station, Clemson College. 

TENNESSEE 

H. A. Morgan, Director, State Station, Knoxville. 

TEXAS 

B. Youngblood, Director, State Station, College Station. 

VIRGINIA 

S. W. Fletcher, Director, State Station, Blacksburg. 
T. C. Johnson, Director, Truck Station, Norfolk. 

INDUSTRIAL AND DEMONSTRATION AGENTS 
EMPLOYED BY THE RAILROADS 

Southern Railroad — Department of Farm 

Improvement Work 

T. 0. Plunkett, Manager, Atlanta, Ga. 

ASSISTANT managers 

R. E. Grabel, Charlotte, N. C. 

W. D. Clayton, Chattanooga, Tenn. 

Roland Turner, Meridian, Miss. 



200 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 
FIELD AGENTS 

W. M. Brown, Manassas, Va. 
R. O. McCord, Danville, Va. 
W. E. Perry, Greensboro, N. C. 
J. H. Hendricks, Columbia, S. C. 
R. A. Stratford, Hazlehurst, Ga. 
T. E. Waldrup, Valdosta, Ga. 
Frank Shorter, West Point, Va. 
George Reese, Atlanta, Ga. 
S. A. Miller, Johnson City, Tenn. 

B. M. Anderson, Knoxville, Tenn. 
T. J. Griffith, Danville, Ky. 

C. C. Prescott,^Ji4rriman, Tenn. 

C. R. Shepherd, Attalla, Ala. 

V. P. Atkinson, Tuscumbia, Ala. 
J. M. Draper, Anniston, Ala. 
T. U. Culver, Maplesville, Ala. 
H. L. Hopper, Tuscaloosa, Ala. 

D. D. Malone, Jackson, Tenn. 
S. M. Byars, Corinth, Miss. 
W. C. Proctor, Itta Bena, Miss. 

E. B. Randle, West Point, Miss. 

E. E. Burrows, Okolona, Miss. 

A. H. Moorman, Lauderdale, Miss. 
R. V. Jarrott, Waynesboro, Miss. 
J. G. Shand, Thomasville, Ala. 

F. S. Long, Cuba, Ala. 
H. C. Bates, Akron, Ala. 

W. E. Birch, Asheville, N. C. 
A. H. Chapman, Greenville, S. C. 

LIVE STOCK AGENT 

F. L. Word, Atlanta, Ga. 



SUPPLEMENT 20I 

ASSISTANT LIVE STOCK AGENTS 

Dr. Walter Sorrell, Greensboro, N. C. 
Dr. C. D. Lowe, Morristown, Tenn. 
Dr. Charles J. Becker, Birmingham, Ala. 

DAIRY AND POULTRY AGENT 

Dr. C. M. Morgan, Atlanta, Ga. 

ASSISTANT DAIRY AND POULTRY AGENTS 

C. T. Rice, Greensboro, N. C. 
Walter W. Fitzpatrick, Atlanta, Ga. 

F. H. Denniss, Columbus, Miss. 
C. A. Hutton, Knoxville, Tenn. 

G. W. Humphrey, Birmingham, Ala. 
Carlton Ball, St. Louis, Mo. 

MARKET AGENTS 

J. M. Seahorn, Atlanta, Ga. 
E. M. Lane, Cincinnati, Ohio. 
E. L. Robison, St. Louis, Mo. 
M. M. Emmert, Washington, D. C. 

Central of Georgia Railway 
J. F. Jackson, Agricultural Agent, Savannah, Ga. 
T. G. Chastain, Agriculturist, Savannah, Ga. 

Atlantic Coast Line Railway 
Wilbur McCoy, Agricultural and Immigration Agent, 
Jacksonville, Fla. 

Seaboard Air Line Railway 
J. A. Pride, General Industrial Agent, Norfolk, Va. 
H. T. Prosser, Agricultural Agent, Hamlet, N. C. 
J. W. Scott, Agricultural Agent, Hamlet, N. C. 
E. D. Mays, Agricultural Agent, Jacksonville, Fla. 
A. P. Fant, Asst. Industrial Agent, Jacksonville, Fla. 



202 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

Louisville and Nashville Railroad 
G. A. Park, General Immigration and Industrial Agent, 

Louisville, Ky. 
L. H. Lister, Agricultural Agent, Bay Minette, Ala. 
T. E. McElroy, Agricultural Agent, Columbia, Tenn. 
John Lister, Agricultural Agent, Pensacola, Fla. 
Karl R. Wundt, Agricultural Agent, Etowah, Tenn. 
William James, Agricultural Agent, Montgomery, Ala. 
S. A. Scott, Agricultural Agent, Foley, Ala. 

Gulf and Ship Island Railroad 
F. H. Lister, Ind. and Immigration Agent, Gulfport, Miss. 
J. J. Taylor, Agricultural Agent, McHenry, Miss. 

Illinois Central Railroad 
J. C. Clair, Industrial and Immigration Commissioner, 

Chicago, 111. 
Charles N. Brumfield, Agriculturist, Memphis, Tenn. 

Kansas City Southern Railway 
J. Hollister TuU, Agriculturist, Mena, Ark. 

Frisco Lines 
W. L. English, Supervisor of Agriculture, St. Louis, Mo. 
E. G. Barnard, Farm Demonstrator, Oklahoma City, 

Okla. 
N. T. McAlister, Farm Demonstrator, Springfield, Mo. 
B. W. White, Farm Demonstrator, Springfield, Mo. 
D. C. Cornman, Farm Demonstrator, St. Louis, Mo. 
H. H. Harrington, Agricultural Director Kingsville, Texas. 
Theo. Kreuz, Demonstration Agent, Kingsville, Texas. 

Missouri, Kansas, and Texas Railway Company 

OF Texas 
T. L. Peeler, Industrial Commissioner, Dallas, Texas. 
R. W. Hockaday, Industrial Commissioner, St. Louis, Mo. 



SUPPLEMENT 203 

St. Louis Southwestern Railway Co. 
W. R. Beattie, Agricultural Commissioner, St. Louis, Mo. 
P. T. Cole, Assistant Agricultural Commissioner, St. 

Louis, Mo. 
L. E. Saupe, Assistant, St. Louis, Mo. 
C. C. Rockenbach, Assistant, St. Louis, Mo. 

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Co. 
H. M. Bainer, Agriculturist, Amarillo, Texas. 
J. D. Tinsley, Agriculturist, Brownwood, Texas. 

Missouri Pacific Railway 

G. K.Andrews, Agricultural Commissioner, St. Louis, Mo. 

St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway 

L. A. Markham, Agricultural Commissioner, Little Rock, 

Ark. 

Texas & Pacific Railway Co. and International 
and Great Northern Railway Co. 
R. R. Claridge, Agricultural Commissioner, Longview> 
Texas. 

Rock Island Lines 

H. M. Cottrell, Agricultural Commissioner, Chicago, 111. 

(736 La Salle St. Station). 
E. R. Bennett, Horticulturist, Little Rock, Ark. 

Sunset Central Route 

(Including Galveston, Harrisburg & San Antonio Rail- 
way Co., Texas & New Orleans Railroad Co., Hous- 
ton & Texas Central Railroad Co., Houston, East & 
West Texas Railroad Co., Houston & Shreveport 
Railroad Co.) 

H. P. Attwater, Agricultural Agent, Houston, Texas. 

W. P. Young, Agricultural Agent, Houston, Texas. 



204 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

New Orleans, Mobile & Chicago Railroad Co. 
L. L. Lawrence, Manager Agricultural and Industrial 

Department, Laurel, Miss. 
H. H. Bolton, Agricultural and Immigration Agent, 

Mobile, Ala. 

EDITORS OF AGRICULTURAL PAPERS 

G. F. Hunnicutt, Editor, Southern Cultivator, Atlanta, Ga. 
R. A. Niven, Editor, Southern Farming, Atlanta, Ga. 
J. S. Cates, Editor, Southern Planter, Richmond, Va. 
Editor, Farmers^ Union Sun, Columbia, S. C. 
L.C. Neele, Editor, Southern -(^gnVw/^Mmi, Nashville,Tenn. 
Dr. H. E. Stockbridge, Editor, Southern Ruralist, Atlanta, 

Ga. 
W. C. Stubbs, Editor, The Louisiana Planter, New 

Orleans, La. 
R. J. Nelson, Editor, Farm and Ranch, Dallas, Texas. 

D. N. Barrow, Editor, Texas Farmer, Dallas, Texas. 
John Fields, Editor, Oklahoma Farm Journal, Oklahoma 

City, Okla. 
Edgar A. Wright, Editor, The Florida Grower, Tampa, 
Fla. 

E. O. Wild, Editor, Gulf States Farmer, New Orleans, La. 
Clarence H. Poe, Editor, Progressive Farmer, Raleigh, N. C. 
Dr. Tate Butler, Editor, Progressive Farmer, Memphis, 

Tenn. 
John Small, Editor, Arkansas Homestead, Little Rock, 
Ark. 

DEMONSTRATION AGENTS OF THE U. S 
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

The Farmers' Cooperative Demonstration Work, 
organized by the U. S. Department of Agriculture, now 



SUPPLEMENT 2O5 

has an Agricultural Agent in nearly every county in the 
South, This work is now being carried on by the U. S. 
Department of Agriculture in cooperation with the State 
Agricultural Colleges and the State Departments of 
Agriculture. 

Farmers desiring information on agricultural subjects 
can address communications to: 
Mr. Bradford Knapp, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau 

of Plant Industry, Washington, D. C. 
Mr. J. A. Evans, General Assistant, Bureau of Plant 

Industry, Washington, D. C. 
Mr. W. B. Mercier, Agriculturist and Field Agent for 
the states of Louisiana, Arkansas, and Tennessee, 
Bureau of Plant Industry, Washington, D. C. 
H. E. Savely, Agriculturist and Field Agent for the states 
of Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and Mississippi, 
Bureau of Plant Industry, Washington, D. C. 
Mr. E. Gentry, Agriculturist and Field Agent for the states 
of Oklahoma and Texas, Bureau of Plant Industry, 
Washington, D. C. 

■ , Agriculturist and Field Agent for the 

states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, 
and Maryland, Bureau of Plant Industry, Washing- 
ton, D. C. 

STATE AND DISTRICT AGENTS IN THE 
FARMERS' COOPERATIVE DEMONSTRA- 
TION WORK, U. S. DEPARTMENT 
OF AGRICULTURE 

ALABAMA 

B. L. Moss, State Agent, 701 Bell Building, Montgomery, 

Ala. 
A. D. Whitehead, District Agent, Greenville, Ala. 



2o6 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 

J. T. Watt, District Agent, Talladega, Ala. 
W. L. Lett, District Agent, 701 Bell Building, Mont- 
gomery, Ala. 

ARKANSAS 

C. W. Watson, State Agent, Little Rock, Ark. 
J. C. Barnett, District Agent, Little Rock, Ark. 
R. C. Davidson, District Agent, Little Rock, Ark. 
W. F. Haden, District Agent, Little Rock, Ark. 

FLORIDA 

A. S. Meharg, State Agent, Lakeland, Fla. 
W. L. Watson, District Agent, Live Oak, Fla. 

GEORGIA 

J. Phil. Campbell, State Agent, Athens,'"Ga. 
W. O. Cornelius, District Agent, Cedartown, Ga. 
S. M. Cown, District Agent, Union City, Ga. 
G. V. Cunningham, District Agent, Tifton, Ga. 
J. W. Hendricks, District Agent, Savannah, Ga. 
J. G. Oliver, District Agent, Macon, Ga. 

LOUISIANA 

Mason Snowden, State Agent, Shreveport, La. 
L. M. Calhoun, District Agent, Gilbert, La. 
L. E. Perrin, District Agent, St. Landry, La. 
J. E. Wemple, District Agent, Arcadia, La. 

MARYLAND 

Dr. Augustus Stabler, District Agent, Bureau of Plant 
Industry, Washington, D. C. 

MISSISSIPPI 

R. S. Wilson, State Agent, Columbus, Miss. 
J. W. Willis, District Agent, Grenada, Miss. 
P. P. Garner, District Agent, West Jackson, Miss. 



SUPPLEMENT 2O7 



NORTH CAROLINA 



C. R. Hudson, State Agent, Raleigh, N. C. 
T. E. Browne, District Agent, Ahoskie, N. C. 
T. D. McLean, District Agent, Carthage, N. C. 
E, S. Millsaps, District Agent, Statesville, N. C. 



OKLAHOMA 



W. D. Bentley, State Agent, Yukon, Okla. 
J. M. Daily, District Agent, Muskogee, Okla. 
F. F. Ferguson, District Agent, Minco, Okla. 



SOUTH CAROLINA 

W. W. Long, State Agent, Clemson College, S. C. 
L. L. Baker, District Agent, Bishopville, S. C. 
W. H. Barton, District Agent, Simpsonville, S. C 
W. R. Elliott, District Agent, Winnsboro, S. C. 

TENNESSEE 

H. D. Tate, State Agent, 909 Stahlman Building, Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 
J. M. Dean, District Agent, Columbia, Tenn. 
H. S. Nichols, District Agent, Jackson, Tenn. 
C. F. Striplin, District Agent, Maryville, Tenn. 

TEXAS 

W. F. Proctor, State Agent, College Station, Texas. 

J. L. Quicksall, Asst. State Agent, 1808 S. 12th Street, 

Waco, Texas. 
William Ganzer, District Agent, Denton, Texas. 
M. T. Payne, District Agent, Temple, Texas. 
G. W. Orms, District Agent, Mineola, Texas. 
T. O. Walton, District Agent, Livingston, Texas. 



208 KNAPP METHOD OF GROWING COTTON 



T. O. Sandy, State Agent, Burkeville, Va. 
F. S. Farrar, District Agent, Jetersville, Va. 
W. P. Moore, District Agent, Forest Depot, Va. 
W. C. Shackleford, District Agent, Proffit, Va. 



THE END 



OCT 8 1918 




JBRARY OF 


C 


JO 


N 


G 


R 


ESi 



























aDDm3i7T4h 





